A Blockchain-Based Real-Time Power Balancing Service for Trustless Renewable Energy Grids

We face a decentralized renewable energy production scenario, where a large number of small energy producers, i.e., prosumers, contribute to a common distributor entity, who resells energy directly to end-users. A major challenge for the distributor is to ensure power stability, constantly balancing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Future internet 2024-05, Vol.16 (5), p.149
Main Authors: Calvagna, Andrea, Marotta, Giovanni, Pappalardo, Giuseppe, Tramontana, Emiliano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy sources
Automation
Blockchain
Design
Distributors
Electric power grids
Energy flow
Energy industry
Energy resources
Flexibility
green energy
Internet
Middleware
power modulation
Power plants
Renewable energy sources
Renewable resources
smart contract
Smart meters
Trust
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Summary:We face a decentralized renewable energy production scenario, where a large number of small energy producers, i.e., prosumers, contribute to a common distributor entity, who resells energy directly to end-users. A major challenge for the distributor is to ensure power stability, constantly balancing produced vs consumed energy flows. In this context, being able to provide quick restore actions in response to unpredictable unbalancing events is a must, as fluctuations are the norm for renewable energy sources. To this aim, the high scalability and diversity of sources are crucial requirements for the said balancing to be actually manageable. In this study, we explored the challenges and benefits of adopting a blockchain-based software architecture as a scalable, trustless interaction platform between prosumers’ smart energy meters and the distributor. Our developed prototype accomplishes the energy load balancing service via smart contracts deployed in a real blockchain network with an increasing number of simulated prosumers. We show that the blockchain-based application managed to react in a timely manner to energy unbalances for up to a few hundred prosumers.
ISSN:1999-5903
1999-5903
DOI:10.3390/fi16050149