Abstract Blockchains were developed as a technology used for transactions of Bitcoins (cryptocurrency). Blockchains have several features such as decentralized transaction without third parties, tolerance network, prevention of data manipulation, and operational cost reduction. This technology is gaining attention in the world, and by adding extensions, improvements, or new technologies, it is expected to be used not only in cryptocurrency and fintech but also in the power and energy system field. This technical note explains the outline of the blockchain technology and its application to the field of power and energy system.
The amalgamation of information and communication technologies in power industry has led to a revolution known as smart grid (SG). The energy consumers interact with the power utility using a bidirectional communication channel for energy trading in SG ecosystem. However, the traditional energy trading mechanisms strongly rely on trusted third parties which act as a single point of failure. Therefore, it is important to equip SG with a decentralized and secure energy trading system which can execute contracts and handle negotiations among various trading parties. Hence, in this paper, EnergyChain, a blockchain model for storing and accessing the data generated by smart homes in a secure manner is proposed. EnergyChain works in following phases: 1) a miner node is selected on the basis of power capacity of various smart homes, 2) a block creation and validation scheme is presented, and 3) a transaction handling mechanism is designed for secure energy trading. After evaluation, the superiority of EnergyChain is validated. The results obtained show that EnergyChain outperforms the traditional scheme in terms of communication costs and computation time.
Intelligence is one of the most important aspects in the development of our future communities. Ranging from smart home to smart building to smart city, all these smart infrastructures must be supported by intelligent power supply. Smart grid is proposed to solve all challenges of future electricity supply. In smart grid, in order to realize optimal scheduling, an SM is installed at each home to collect the near-real-time electricity consumption data, which can be used by the utilities to offer better smart home services. However, the near-real-time data may disclose a user's private information. An adversary may track the application usage patterns by analyzing the user's electricity consumption profile. In this article, we propose a privacy-preserving and efficient data aggregation scheme. We divide users into different groups, and each group has a private blockchain to record its members' data. To preserve the inner privacy within a group, we use pseudonyms to hide users' identities, and each user may create multiple pseudonyms and associate his/ her data with different pseudonyms. In addition, the bloom filter is adopted for fast authentication. The analysis shows that the proposed scheme can meet the security requirements and achieve better performance than other popular methods.
The trend in the energy market has led in the last few years the increase in demand (eg the spread of electric vehicles) and an increase in volatile renewable energy sources (PV, Wind, etc.), a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, that destabilize the grid leading to black outs. The electricity grid is developing in a distributed network, so the connected energy markets are moving towards a new decentralized structure, where renewable sources and storage facilities (EVs), will have a significant penetration and adoption by energy customers, with the intent to provide sustainable solutions.[1] Balancing the demand and supply of electricity, in a system dominated by random elements, such as solar and wind production that depend on weather conditions, combined with the highly variable demand from domestic users, must lead to a new model of consumers and producers at the same time that is the so-called Prosumer and will be a challenge of great importance. With this paper we want to verify how the smart communities, made up of Prosumers, within smart cities, are the key to the new electricity distribution, based on ICT, IoT and smart metering. A significant contribution will be provided by the Blockchain to make the energy networks and related economic transactions secure and reliable.
Jun 1, 2018·2018 IEEE International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering and 2018 IEEE Industrial and Commercial Power Systems Europe (EEEIC / I&CPS Europe)
Caroline Plaza, J. A. C. Gil, Francois de Chezelles, Karl Axel Sträng
Self-consumption and local energy communities have a significant role to play for the energy transition and the development of renewable energies. This paper introduces a blockchain-based solution designed to serve energy communities sharing solar energy. This solution has been defined and developed to manage the energy exchanges according to the rules set by the energy community. It harnesses the available smart metering infrastructure installed by the DSO, as the trusted party for energy data to the energy stakeholders, to stay focused on the governance of the energy community. This paper summarizes the characteristics and field-proven benefits of the implementation.
This paper considers the design, the development and the experimental evaluation, of a blockchain based smart contract specifying the operating rules of a real time, uniform-price double auction energy market. Producers and consumers interact with this contract sending their offers and bids accordingly and the contract clears the market based on a double auction model. We propose four different approaches for implementing, through the Ethereum platform, both the P2P network as well as the smart contract. We systematically compare the above approaches on the basis of their decentralization nature, operating costs, computational costs, effectiveness, security, privacy and beyond. This comparison is achieved through large scale, real time simulations based on the GridLAB-D platform.
This position paper describes how blockchains facilitate the implementation of distributed self-adaptive systems. We demonstrate how the master/slave decentralised control pattern for self-adaptive systems, integrated with a permissioned blockchain, can protect nodes of a network against attacks by continuously adapting the membership of an access control list. Whenever malicious behaviour is detected, consensus on an updated access control list is reached, and that node is removed from the network. Using a smart home, as an example, we demonstrate that a permissioned blockchain is able to maintain a consistent view of a network of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the presence of malicious nodes.
Christian Berger, Birgit Penzenstadler, Olaf Drögehorn
Innovation in the world of today is mainly driven by software. Companies need to continuously rejuvenate their product portfolios with new features to stay ahead of their competitors. For example, recent trends explore the application of blockchains to domains other than finance. This paper analyzes the state-of-the-art for safety-critical systems as found in modern vehicles like self-driving cars, smart energy systems, and home automation focusing on specific challenges where key ideas behind blockchains might be applicable. Next, potential benefits unlocked by applying such ideas are presented and discussed for the respective usage scenario. Finally, a research agenda is outlined to summarize remaining challenges for successfully applying blockchains to safety-critical cyber-physical systems.
This paper describes the proof of concept of a blockchain based organization of a local low voltage energy community. The focus of the concept is efficient use of shared resources to minimize external dependence, and not energy trading. A previously proposed control algorithm, which exploits the power dependency of the efficiency of electrical energy storages, is implemented as a smart contract on a private instance of an Ethereum blockchain to coordinate the operation. It is implemented using four connected Raspberry Pis representing the participating households with pre-given electrical load and photovoltaic conversion as well as a battery. Each household runs an Ethereum full node and an interfacing software. Only the energy technology components are simulated, while the blockchain is actually running on the Raspberry Pis in order to mind the full complexity of the technology. The practicability is proved in a test run and positive effects on the efficiency and the self-sufficiency within the community are observed. A first cost-benefit estimate is given and a further research agenda is presented.
Recently, advancements in energy distribution models have fulfilled the needs of microgrids in finding a suitable energy distribution model between producer and consumer without the need of central controlling authority. Most of the energy distribution model deals with energy transactions and losses without considering the security aspects such as information tampering. The transaction data could be accessible online to keep track of the energy distribution between the consumer and producer (e.g., online payment records and supplier profiles). However this data is prone to modification and misuse if a consumer moves from one producer to other. Blockchain is considered to be one solution to allow users to exchange energy related data and keep track of it without exposing it to modification. In this paper, electrical transactions embedded in blockchain are validated using the signatures of multiple producers based on their assigned attributes. These signatures are verified and endorsed by the consumers satisfying those attributes without revealing any information. The public and private keys for these consumers are generated by the producers and endorsement procedure using these keys ensures that these consumers are authorized. This approach does not need any central authority. To resist against collision attacks, producers are given a secret pseudorandom function seed. The comparative analysis shows the efficiency of proposed approach over the existing ones.
Under the background of rapid development of distributed renewable energy (DRE) and demand response (DR), the traditional DR will develop into integrated demand response (IDR). The current centralized trading of electricity market model is unable to meet the trading needs of scattered IDR resources. As the decentralized and distributed accounting mode, the blockchain technology fits the requirement of IDR resources to participate in energy market. The blockchain-based DRE transaction platform can support the credible transaction and settlement between the IDR resources, and promote the development of DER. Corresponding to the transaction principle, the frame of blockchain-based IDR resources transaction scheme was proposed. The transactions between DER and DR are taken for example to explain the detail trading process. Finally, the smart contracts of the transactions are designed and deployed on Ethereum private blockchain to prove the validity of the proposed transaction scheme.
Michael Mylrea, Sri Nikhil Gupta Gourisetti, Randy Bishop, Matthew Johnson
The U.S. power grid is a complex system of systems that requires secure, reliable and trustworthy energy delivery systems. Grid modernization has increased the speed and size of data sets exchanged on these systems. Exasperating the challenge is these systems are increasingly distributed creating new data fidelity and interoperability challenges for grid operators struggling to balance and incorporate distributed energy resources. Blockchain technology provides an atomically verifiable cryptographic signature to help increase the trustworthiness of energy delivery systems at the grid's edge. This is especially important as distribution level as energy delivery systems and field devices have increasing operational and security requirements that are often diametrically opposed: as data, speed and analytic requirements increase, security and functionality requirements increase, as the grid's edge incorporate distributed energy resources and transacts in real time, availability is prioritized over the integrity and confidentially of that data. This paper explores how a keyless signature blockchain infrastructure (KSBI) technology may help facilitate NERC CIP compliance and securing critical energy infrastructure from evolving cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
Khaled Shuaib, Juhar Abdella, Farag Sallabi, Mohammed Abdel‐Hafez
Due to the expansion of small scale distributed energy resources such as solar rooftop and PEVs, decentralized energy trading is expected to be one of the most important components of next generation power systems. Decentralized peer-to-peer energy exchange systems are believed to be a promising solution not only to solve the scalability and mobility problems in the existing system but also to create a competitive market that can benefit small scale prosumers and consumers. However, such systems need to be equipped with the necessary security, privacy and payment transaction mechanisms to be efficient and trusted. In this paper, we propose a decentralized energy exchange system based on Blockchains. Blockchains is a technology that supports secure transactions between participating entities in a decentralized peer-to-peer network. The proposed system allows for energy exchange between prosumers using a form of smart electronic contracts which are based on Blockchains.
Michael Mylrea, Sri Nikhil Gupta Gourisetti, Heather Culley
The following landscape analysis explores blockchain or distributed ledger technologies application to securing electricity infrastructure. The exploration of how distributed ledger technologies can be used to increase the trustworthiness and integrity of the grid’s edge is imperative to the economic, security and well-being of all modern societies that rely on electricity. Blockchain technology’s ability to secure, track and optimize complex data transactions provides an exciting value proposition to securing and optimizing the U.S. power grid. An energy delivery system (EDS) operating at the grid’s edge requires unprecedented levels of security and trustworthiness to verify integrity of data and manage complex transactive and distributed Energy Resources (DERs) exchanges. Moreover, grid-edge devices lack visibility, control and security to conduct real-time energy transactions with the required security, speed and scale. The U.S. power grid is a complex system of systems that requires secure, reliable and trustworthy EDSs. Grid modernization has increased the speed and size of data sets exchanged on these systems (Gordes and Mylrea 2014). Exasperating the challenge is these systems are increasingly distributed creating new data fidelity and interoperability challenges for grid operators struggling to balance and incorporate DERs. Blockchain technology provides an atomically verifiable cryptographic signature to help increase the trustworthiness of EDSs at the grid’s edge. This feature is especially important at distribution level since EDSs and field devices have increasing operational and security requirements that are often diametrically opposed. For example, as data, speed and analytic requirements increase, security and functionality requirements increase. Further, as the grid’s edge incorporate DERs and transacts in real time, availability is prioritized over the integrity and confidentially of that data. Blockchain presents the prospect of solving some of these complex challenges related to grid security and modernization. However, there are more questions about blockchain applicability than answers. There are number of theoretical blockchain applications to the energy sector, but few energy utilities have actually applied, implemented or even experimented with the underlying distributed ledger technology and consensus algorithms that enable blockchain to exchange data more efficiently and securely.
Eung Seon Kang, Seung Jae Pee, Jae Song, Ju Wook Jang
The MicroGrid., as the need for renewable energy emerges, are becoming essential, renewable energy trading platforms are being developed and established in the microgrid. With the proliferation of technologies such as Smart home based of Internet of Things, interconnected networks, and Blockchain, microgrid has introduced a variety of applications and innovative solutions for efficient system maintenance. This paper, in a blockchain-based smart home, it is impossible to forge data called transaction generated by using blockchain. With this unforgeable transactions, home miner that centrally processes all the transactions generated in smart home know information about energy. Based on this information, we proposes renewable energy trading platform using ethereum's smart contract to ensure secure energy trading run automatically without the third party intervention in a microgrid.
Gaoqi Liang, Steven R. Weller, Fengji Luo, Junhua Zhao · 5 authors
The cyber security of modern power systems has drawn increasing attention in both academia and industry. Many detection and defense methods for cyber-attacks have therefore been proposed to enhance robustness of modern power systems. In this paper, we propose a new, distributed blockchain-based protection framework to enhance the self-defensive capability of modern power systems against cyber-attacks. We present a comprehensive discussion on how blockchain technology can be used to enhance the robustness and security of the power grid, by using meters as nodes in a distributed network which encapsulates meter measurements as blocks. Effectiveness of the proposed protection framework is demonstrated via simulation experiments on the IEEE-118 benchmark system.
Hamidreza Arasteh, Vahid Vahidinasab, Mohammad Sadegh Sepasian, Jamshid Aghaei
The incorporation of the reconfiguration into the expansion planning of smart distribution networks is addressed in this paper, in which the potential of distributed energy resources and demand response (DR) are modeled. The system of systems (SoS) architecture is employed to model the strategy of a distribution company (DISCO), a private investor (PI), and a DR provider (DRP). The SoS is an efficient modeling architecture to model the behavior of independent and autonomous systems with distinct objective functions who are able to share some data and work together. The aim of the DISCO is to upgrade the system with the optimal cost and reliability, whereas the PI and DRP want to maximize their profit. The DISCO should try to persuade the PI to install DGs (Distributed generations) by offering the guaranteed purchasing prices. Furthermore, the DRP is a market player who can negotiate with the DISCO to sign a contract to sell the purchased DR capacities from the customers. The uncertainties of the DISCO problem is handled by using the chance-constraint method, but the PI and DRP use the conditional value at risk method to model their uncertainties. Finally, to solve the proposed model, the multiobjective optimization algorithm is employed.
Crowdsourcing relies on people's contributions to meet product- or system-level objectives. Crowdsourcing-based methods have been implemented in various cyber-physical systems and realtime markets. This paper explores a framework for Crowdsourced Energy Systems (CES), where small-scale energy generation or energy trading is crowdsourced from distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, and shapable loads. The merits/pillars of energy crowdsourcing are discussed. Then, an operational model for CESs in distribution networks with different types of crowdsourcees is proposed. The model yields a market equilibrium depicting traditional and distributed generator and load setpoints. Given these setpoints, crowdsourcing incentives are designed to steer crowdsourcees to the equilibrium. As the number of crowdsourcees and energy trading transactions scales up, a secure energy trading platform is required. To that end, the presented framework is integrated with a lightweight Blockchain implementation and smart contracts. Numerical tests are provided to showcase the overall implementation.
The conventional grid and power system infrastructure is monitored using a centralized approach. Wherein remote terminal units are governed using a master control facility. In the wake of dispersed generations where every consumer is also becoming a producer with solar powered PV panels or wind, managing power is becoming a difficult task. This situation can become unmanageable in an event of cyber-attack on a smart grid.The objective of this paper is to use Block Chain Technology (BCT) to manage data of a power system. Initially, we will consider an attack on a switch of SMIB and issues arising out of it. Then we model two more cases where, BCT will aid in management of power.
Utilities confront challenges to optimally plan and develop the distribution grids both for reducing their imposed costs and for satisfying the customers' electricity needs. In this paper, optimal allocation of automatic and manual sectionalizing switches as well as protective devices is performed in presence of load flexibilities. Control devices could improve the duration-based reliability indices, while protective devices could improve both duration-based and frequency-based reliability indices. In this paper, optimal incentives and penalties in the emergency demand response programs (EDRP) are determined based upon the customers' behaviors. The resulting optimization problem is then solved in 2 different scenarios: without load flexibility and incorporating EDRP. Finally, a standard reliability test system (RBTS4) is used to delineate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to analyze the probability of customers' contribution in EDRP based upon the predetermined contracts.
In this paper, we investigate the use of decentralized blockchain mechanisms for delivering transparent, secure, reliable, and timely energy flexibility, under the form of adaptation of energy demand profiles of Distributed Energy Prosumers, to all the stakeholders involved in the flexibility markets (Distribution System Operators primarily, retailers, aggregators, etc.). In our approach, a blockchain based distributed ledger stores in a tamper proof manner the energy prosumption information collected from Internet of Things smart metering devices, while self-enforcing smart contracts programmatically define the expected energy flexibility at the level of each prosumer, the associated rewards or penalties, and the rules for balancing the energy demand with the energy production at grid level. Consensus based validation will be used for demand response programs validation and to activate the appropriate financial settlement for the flexibility providers. The approach was validated using a prototype implemented in an Ethereum platform using energy consumption and production traces of several buildings from literature data sets. The results show that our blockchain based distributed demand side management can be used for matching energy demand and production at smart grid level, the demand response signal being followed with high accuracy, while the amount of energy flexibility needed for convergence is reduced.
With the development of the blockchain technology, and applications of blockchain technologies more and more widely, we can apply the Blockchains to Industrial Control System(ICS) for network security. The key technology of blockchain include: distributed ledge, asymmetric cryptography, consensus algorithm and smart contract. The goal of our works is to realize industrial control system network security and make that is reliable, safety, high efficiency and low cost. We will explain how to apply blockchain technology to industrial control system network for cybersecurity, and also explain how blockchains works and why blockchains technology can realize the cybersecurity of ICS, then describe how blockchains combine with IoT to realize IoT network security and build blockchain-based ICS cybersecurity architecture modal. We also point out a series of problems that should be considered before the deployment of a blockchains network in ICS and Jot Form data transfer to data storage and data management, blockchains technology can solve these problems well include data transfer insecurity, machine malfunction, data storage insecurity and so on. Our solution is that blockchains network replace Industrial Control systems Field network, our conclusion is that blockchains technology can resolve ICS network security and provide a solution for IoT security, Industrial control network security based on blockchain is very meaningful and feasible.