In the context of modern power system development to support the evolution towards green energy and carbon-neutral emission goals, many existing problems and even challenges demand new technical solutions. Decentralized blockchain technology has been employed to address some problems in power systems, and many papers have been published. The objective here is to present how blockchain technology can be applied in modern power systems and provide researchers with a summary of progress in this area.
1. Application of Blockchain in Electric Power Dispatching
The applications of blockchain technology in power dispatching are shown in Figure 1. It can be seen from the figure that these units can be organically linked together with the grid, the power supply side, the virtual power plant, and the service provider. In addition, compared with the traditional methods, the advantages of being decentralized, distributed peer-to-peer, data block association, tamper-proof, transparent, and credible can be used in the modern power system. The current research studies on blockchain technology mainly focus on the following aspects:
Figure 1. Application of the blockchain technology in power dispatching.
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Several studies have been carried out on dispatch management based on considering the dynamic electricity price. For example, a blockchain-based multi-microgrids scheduling strategy was presented in
[1] with considerations of dynamic electricity price and the scheduling strategy, and a scheduling architecture based on a blockchain platform was designed. Through this scheme, the problem of the system economy and environmental pollution are improved. They used the linear programming method and improved the krill herd algorithm (KHA) with a weighted nonlinear change to solve, and blockchain technology could guarantee the security of scheduling data. A load scheduling algorithm is presented in
[2] based on real-time pricing for multi-users. The algorithm can make use of real-time energy pricing information for scheduling. A case study of a distributed green energy was provided, using Hyperledger Iroha as a blockchain platform. It has been proved that the system is secure, scalable, and can ensure reliable energy transmission. The work in
[3] focused on a local energy market based on blockchain. Their approach reduces the cost of electricity using a scheduling algorithm based on critical peak price, real-time pricing, and demurrage. A scheduling algorithm was adopted and applied to a small community private chain containing photovoltaic systems. Experimental results show that this scheme can minimize energy consumption and power costs between producers and consumers, and enhance security in transactions.
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Scheduling schemes from the perspective of energy trading were put forth in the following studies. A peer-to-peer (P2P) energy transaction scheduling scheme (PETS) is presented in
[4] based on blockchain technology. PETS is based on real-time energy consumption monitoring to balance the energy gap between the service providers (i.e., smart grid) and service consumers (i.e., electric vehicles). In PETS, a genetic algorithm was proposed to maximize the leader’s profit from the leader’s point of view. The simulation results show that the proposed PETS scheme is better than the most advanced one. An autonomous distributed scheduling framework was proposed in
[5] for managing the power consumption in smart building clusters and the locally distributed energy. They provided an incentive mechanism based on the reputation value. The Ethereum private blockchain simulation results show that the scheduling scheme effectively reduces the scheduling cost. A distributed energy scheduling scheme is presented in
[6] based on the minimum-cut-maximum-flow theory. Blockchains were used to record transactions and reach consensus. Payment and settlement of actual electricity consumption were performed using smart contracts, and a lower total power consumption cost was realized. This method was applied to a city in Guangdong province covered by China Southern Power Grid, and the result proved its feasibility.
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The following methods have been developed for safety. In
[7], a power dispatching model based on hierarchical management and hierarchical storage was proposed, and a fully functional dispatching blockchain platform was developed. Automatic execution of dispatching evaluation was realized by using a customized smart contract, the security of the system was realized through the designed consistency check mechanism, and the scheme has been applied in practical projects. In
[8], the blockchain technology is used, and a secure data aggregation model is proposed based on homomorphic encryption and practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) consensus. In addition, they proposed an automatic power dispatching method based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and smart contract. The security and efficiency of the proposed solution are proved by safety analysis and experimental verification. A completely decentralized transaction architecture and a weakly centralized scheduling strategy are presented in
[9] based on blockchain technology. A decentralized and quantified proportion of blockchain participation is defined, and a risk control model of blockchain transactions is developed based on the communication credit consensus mechanism. Based on the transaction completion process, a weak centralized scheduling architecture based on an autonomous substation chain was designed, using an improved evolutionary gaming algorithm to solve the problem. A stable scheduling scheme was obtained by dynamically updating the credibility.
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Study from the point of view of economic dispatch includes the following: Chen et al.
[10] presented the distributed security-constrained economic dispatch (SCED) algorithm based on the blockchain technique. Using a blockchain to form a coordinating committee and maintain a balance among the committee members, the proposed approach allowed for the use of a hierarchical SCED algorithm without a coordinator. The design scheme verifies the robustness of blockchain technology through digital simulation and realizes economic power dispatching.
The application of blockchain technology in the field of power dispatching is generally included in several aspects as shown in Figure 2, and the proportion of literatures roughly reflects the heat of the corresponding research direction. At the same time, through the above discussion, it can be found that in the case of electric power dispatching introducing blockchain technology can improve the degree of flexible control of electricity prices, which can improve the safety and economy.
Figure 2. Application situation of blockchain in power dispatch.
However, the difficulty is the assurance of the decentralization degree of the scheduling strategy, and how to overcome it in achieving its advantage to other factors at the same time. For example, a study
[8] proposed the aggregation scheme of secure data, and Formulae (1) are introduced into data reading and encryption for a smart meter.
where
RDmsgijk represents legal data information,
cpdijk represents encryption result,
Idijk represents
sijk (smart meter) identification number,
dateijk represents date information, and
tsijk represents timestamp. ‖ represents “and”, and
ijk represents a smart meter under aggregator
Aij.
During the data aggregation and consensus process,
where
represents the aggregation result of encryption for data information,
⊕k represents aggregation of encryption results of
k smart meters,
VSij represents the result of a valid message, and
Sijk represents the result of each smart meter information under an aggregator.
The confirmed information can be expressed as:
Here, it is mentioned that the system will ignore the wrong information and only aggregate the valid information. In contrast to the latest publications, misinformation caused by deliberate acts can be punished by establishing an equal status of blockchain nodes (such as national, provincial, prefecture, and city, etc.), soft fork or hard fork can be used to modify or invalidate data, and reasonable smart contract and model data link can be used for processing.
2. Application of the Blockchain Technology in Microgrid
Figure 3 shows a schematic of the application of blockchain technology in a microgrid, which is the most important unit in the reform of electric power enterprises. The characteristics and architecture of blockchain suggest that its application in microgrids would greatly improve the intelligence and transparency of the management compared with the traditional methods. At present, the research on the use of blockchain technology in microgrids mainly includes the following aspects.
Figure 3. Schematic showing the application of the blockchain technology in microgrid.
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Studies from the perspective of establishing microgrid transaction models or algorithms include the following: Danalakshmi et al.
[11] adopted a self-balanced differential evolution algorithm, which was used for calculating the power loss of each energy transaction. This approach was applied to the optimal reactive power dispatching (ORPD) scenario of the nine-way bus system. A case study showed that the proposed hierarchical microgrid architecture can achieve transparency and security among peers; thus, enabling reactive power optimization of the microgrid and reducing power losses. In Xu et al.
[12], a coupled blockchain technology with a microgrid group transaction was described, which established a microgrid group information flow transaction model based on the blockchain technology. Based on the decentralized characteristics shared by the blockchain technology and the ant colony algorithm, an improved ant colony algorithm was proposed to solve the microgrid group, and the transaction model. Microgrid operators and distributed storage providers were taken as examples to verify the results. Yang et al.
[13] proposed a blockchain consortium transaction model supporting P2P energy transactions. A power loss compensation alliance blockchain based on a smart contract transaction execution algorithm was designed. Simulation results show that the proposed blockchain model helps save users’ transaction costs and could perform the technical operation of microgrid. Okoye et al.
[14] proposed a network-enhanced transaction microgrid model based on the blockchain technology, and it was applied to microgrid transactions. By testing in a simulation environment, the results show that the model could enhance the robustness of energy transactions and alleviate the disaster caused by failure to deal with emergency demand events in a timely manner. Myung et al.
[15] proposed an automatic power trading algorithm for a microgrid environment and applied it to transactions in microgrid environments. The algorithm has been implemented on the Ethernet blockchain platform with an executable distributed code (i.e., a smart contract). It can automate electricity transactions in a decentralized environment without user intervention. Masaud et al.
[16] proposed an energy trading algorithm of two-layer isolated interconnected microgrids based on blockchain, and applied it to transactions in microgrid environments. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme can realize system reliability and improve the privacy protection of microgrid. Singla et al.
[17] proposed a blockchain auction model based on a microgrid, adopting the consensus price algorithm and using geographical location as the main parameter of visibility between electricity consumers and aggregators. By applying it to transactions in microgrid environments, they aimed to create an energy transfer ecosystem. Liu et al.
[18] established a microgrid transaction model based on the blockchain platform and used the optimized PSO method to solve the optimal bidding strategy in the transaction. The scheme is applied to wind storage and electric vehicle small microgrid, and the verification results show that the scheme achieves profit optimization of each subject, realizes organic integration of blockchain and microgrid, and solves the problem of insufficient energy utilization in the microgrid game. Zhao et al.
[19] established a microgrid market transaction model using the consortium blockchain technology and the Nash equilibrium in game theory. Price, trading volume, and user information were submitted to the blockchain container for transaction matching to realize the transaction. After the transaction was completed, its related information was recorded in the super ledger and called the scheduling system. The scheme was validated in microgrid transaction scenarios, and the results show that it can reduce the cost of purchasing power and improve the benefit of selling power. Chen et al.
[20] proposed a prioritization algorithm based on the driving and charging behaviors of EV drivers and proposed a blockchain-based incentive mechanism for EV–EV coin. The scheme was simulated and verified by collecting solar energy data from California. The application shows that the system could effectively improve the utilization rate of the local microgrid and reduce the transmission load of the distribution network. Su et al.
[21] proposed an optimized algorithm of microgrid energy management and applied it to microgrid energy management scenarios to verify the scheme. This method can reduce the inherent uncertainties in renewable energy systems by using and expanding clean energy, reducing power carbon emissions, and optimizing microgrid power management by using the energy blockchain technology.
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Studies on the security of microgrid transactions include the following: The authors of
[22] proposed a blockchain-oriented consortium approach for solving the problem of privacy disclosure without restricting the transaction functions. This method was mainly aimed at the privacy problems of energy transaction users in smart grids. By mining different energy transaction volumes, the distribution of energy sales of sellers was screened, and its relationship with the physical location, energy use, and other information was detected. The scheme was applied to energy trading, and the security of the scheme was verified by sample selection and software environment simulation. Liu et al.
[23] proposed a secure power transaction mechanism based on blockchain for smart power grids using wireless networks. By introducing a blockchain to record the power data collected by wireless networks, the designed smart contracts can make reasonable transaction decisions based on it and promote the effectiveness of the security. Wang et al.
[24] proposed an artificial-intelligence-enabled blockchain-based electric vehicle integration scheme (AEBIS) for the power management of smart grid platforms. At the cost of acceptable memory and delay, the scheme was applied to the integrated power management system of the smart grid platform, and the verification results show that the scheme can achieve secure and transparent service. Khan et al.
[25] proposed a Hyperledger Sawtooth Blockchain system, which realized a novel and secured distributed energy transmission node in the EPS-ledger network architecture. This approach designed, created, and deployed digital contracts for network physical energy monitoring systems. The scheme has strong renewable energy penetration capabilities and provides confidentiality and integrity in power system distribution. Zhang et al.
[26] proposed a privacy protection scheme based on blockchain consortium and continuous double auction for microgrid direct electricity transactions. They used the combination way of the alliance blockchain and the continuous double auction mechanism. The results show that the proposed scheme can be applied to the microgrid direct electricity transaction scenario and can solve the demand of small scale, low cost, and high efficiency of microgrids.
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The following distributed transaction schemes have been proposed: Park et al.
[27] proposed a scheme to implement the distributed ledger technology based on the directed acyclic graph (DAG) and applied it to the microgrid. After this, electricity transactions in a smart grid can be confirmed. Wang et al.
[28] proposed a distributed P2P energy transaction method based on the double auction market, namely supply and demand generation, pricing strategy, and distributed P2P energy transaction. The method was applied to an urban community microgrid scenario. Through test verification, the scheme can realize the coordination and complementarity of the energy resources in urban community microgrid systems.
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Studies from the perspective of smart contracts include the following: Younes et al.
[29] discussed the detailed background of blockchain, introduced the general situation of smart grid and its technology, clarified the importance of smart contracts and their role in blockchain, and emphasized the application of blockchain in smart grid and the improvement of elasticity. Xuan et al.
[30] proposed a blockchain-based power grid control method and application model, which treats both national and provincial systems as blockchain nodes. They concluded that a smart contract could establish a model data chain containing the entire network model and model maintenance ledger. It was applied to the innovative maintenance mode of the power grid. The results show that the scheme not only ensures the security and reliability of the data but can also be used for analysis, mining, and business development.
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Articles studied from the perspective of multi-microgrid networks include the following: The authors of
[31] proposed a two-tier energy trading framework based on blockchain in multi-microgrids. This framework was applied to the transaction scenarios of eight independent microgrids. The results show that information transparency and mutual trust can be improved. Xu et al.
[12] established a coupling model for the combination of blockchain technology and microgrid group transactions.
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Studies considering the ancillary service market include the work by Di Silvestre et al.
[32], in which the auxiliary service market was considered; in particular, the voltage regulation service and a design scheme of blockchain technology in a comprehensive framework combining microgrid and economic management were proposed. The feasibility of the proposed scheme was verified by applying it to a group of energy trading examples.
For points (1)–(6), a summary is in Figure 4. The proportion of the literature discussed roughly reflects the popularity of the corresponding research content.
Figure 4. Application situation of blockchain in microgrid.
3. Application of the Blockchain Technology in the Energy Market
With the development of blockchain technology, the pace of its integration into the energy market and its continuous innovation is accelerating.
Figure 5 shows a schematic of the application of blockchain technology in the energy market
[33]. In the future, energy blockchain will form a model of a small “physical-network + large information network + side chain auxiliary network”. Energy generation enterprises, government regulatory departments, and various groups will operate in the system of the energy alliance chain
[34].
Figure 5. Application of blockchain technology in the energy market.
At present, the research on the usage of blockchain technology in the energy market mainly includes the following aspects:
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Various schemes have been proposed to improve its computing speed in energy trading. For example, Hu et al.
[35] designed a consensus resource slice model (CRSM) in the field of energy trading. CRSM divides the consensus nodes into different consensus domains for concurrent consensus, and the storage domain only stores the block information but not consensus. It is applied to distributed energy trading scenarios. By building an experimental platform, the efficiency of CRSM was verified, which reduced the communication pressure of the blockchain system and effectively improved its consensus speed. Lu et al.
[36] proposed a software-defined-networking (SDN) based distributed energy transaction scheme for an energy internet supported by blockchain technology, which was applied to a distributed energy trading scenario. Their scheme achieves reasonable matching of trading objects to protect privacy. A new distributed hash table topology was established by using the Kademlia technology, which greatly improves the speed of the route query compared to the other algorithms.
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The following studies on energy trading mechanism have been proposed. Che et al.
[37] proposed a distributed renewable energy transaction authentication mechanism based on the alliance blockchain. Further, a certificate authority (CA) was introduced into the blockchain network to manage the users’ public and private keys and certificates. This strengthened the supervision of the transaction participants over the power agencies. The solution can be applied to various platforms of blockchain consortia and energy trading markets. He et al.
[38] proposed a joint operation mechanism of cross-chain transactions and combined the distributed photovoltaic power generation and carbon markets using blockchain technology. Its novelty lies in the construction of two chains, the main chain and the side chain, which enables the two markets to share data and circulation value. In addition, the design of a two-way anchoring method can achieve the equivalence of carbon trading and electricity trading using cryptocurrencies. The results show that the scheme can increase the profit margin when applied to the cross-chain transaction scenario of distributed power generation. Xia et al.
[39] proposed a decentralized power trading mode in which multiple parties participate in bidding and designed the decentralized power multi-party trading process. In addition, considering the limitations of the current blockchain technology, the user credibility model and the corresponding punishment mechanism were designed to restrict the offline point-to-point transaction after the bidding decision was completed. Using the Ethereum smart contract technology, a smart multi-party bidding contract was designed based on a decentralized power transaction process to provide privacy for users participating in the transaction and ensure that the bidding results were publicly verifiable. The scheme was applied to a distributed power trading scenario to verify the effectiveness of the power surplus trading mechanism. Zhuang et al.
[40] designed a transaction mechanism and operation process for the distributed power generation market and transaction rules for distributed transactions. Based on this, the core method was used for distributing the transaction profits by taking collective rationality as the core game, and the core model of the distributed transaction cooperative game was constructed. An example verifies the feasibility of the scheme in a distributed transaction scenario. Long et al.
[41] proposed a trading mechanism based on the Shapley value and a P2P energy trading algorithm. Based on the optimality and fairness of producers and consumers, a distributed energy management solution was proposed and applied to a residential community with a photovoltaic system.
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Various schemes have been proposed from the perspective of security in energy transactions. For example, Sheikh et al.
[42] studied the energy transaction process between EVs and the distribution networks under the framework of the Byzantine blockchain consensus from the perspective of security transactions. It is applied to IEEE 33 bus system for case verification, and the results show that the scheme is feasible. Khorasany et al.
[43] proposed a blockchain-supported P2P energy market trading framework, and designed the decentralized market clearing mechanism completely. This paper proposed an anonymous position certificate (A-PoL) algorithm, and applied to location-aware point-to-point transactions; the result shows that it can provide energy trading between producers and consumers, as well as security and privacy protection of the environment. Wang et al.
[44] proposed a multi-blockchain power transaction data management structure based on a sovereign blockchain by taking the efficiency and security performance of the blockchain. The proposed scheme was applied to a multi-blockchain power transaction scenario for verification; the results show this data management structure improves the efficiency of power data management.
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The following studies on P2P energy transactions have been performed. Zhang et al.
[45] studied a benchmark low-voltage microgrid case and a low-voltage microgrid case with higher node diversity using the self-designed energy trading platform “Elecbay”. The results of this study show that P2P point-to-point energy trading could improve the balance of local energy production and consumption. In another study
[46], a P2P energy trading scheme which adopts the alliance formation algorithm was proposed. It was applied to a residential network of 12 consumers. The case study shows that the scheme can help centralize the power system to reduce the total demand of users during peak hours. Doan et al.
[47] proposed a smart electric P2P energy trading system based on the game theory and blockchain technology, which does not need to disclose private information such as the bid from each user, request, energy quantity, and user behavior. The proposed scheme is applied to a microgrid case with 10 consumers, and the security of the system is verified. Khan et al.
[48] designed a point-to-point energy transaction and charging payment system for EVs based on blockchain technology. In this system, the users can sell excess electricity to the charging stations via smart contracts, and the EV users can pay the charging fees using electronic wallets. Antal et al.
[49] discussed a decentralized energy flexibility market based on blockchain. With the help of urban distribution system operators, the scheme is validated, and the results show that the scheme can enable small-scale producers to trade in a P2P manner and improve the flexibility in load modulation. Khorasany et al.
[50] focused on a distributed P2P energy trading scheme. A prime-dual gradient method was applied to a small residential distribution network to verify the scheme, and a case study shows that the scheme can satisfy the direct interaction between buyers and sellers in a completely decentralized way in the electricity market.
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Articles studied from the perspective of the double auction market include the following: Jogunola et al.
[51] developed VirtElect, a platform based on the dual auction market, to support paired interaction between consumers. Based on a case study of real microgrid data, the performance of the platform in demonstrating the potential of local energy consumption was verified. Fotia et al.
[52] designed a decentralized, real-time, uniform price dual-auction energy market, which is a distributed and decentralized application, the rules of which can be specified using smart contracts. Market participants interact with smart contracts, sending their requests and offers. The distributed applications clear the market based on a uniform price economic scheduling model and realize the application in the distributed energy market.
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Research based on energy demand prediction includes the following: Shamsi et al.
[53] proposed a conceptual framework for utilizing predictive markets on a blockchain platform with the aim of forecasting and hedging renewable energy. The potential financial benefits of applying this approach were demonstrated through a case study of a typical small wind power producer. Jamil et al.
[54] proposed a predictive energy trading platform based on blockchain, which provides real-time support, one-day-ahead control, and power generation scheduling for distributed energy, and can realize point-to-point energy trading, data analysis, and predictive analysis supported by smart contracts. The energy consumption data of Jeju Island in South Korea were applied to the model for verification and analysis, and the results show that the platform has advantages in improving latency and throughput. Aloqaily et al.
[55] focused on a solution combining a hybrid energy trading system with the smart contract of a collaborative power grid to create a hybrid energy trading platform on the smart contract for energy demand prediction. It was applied to the energy transaction scenario of distributed microgrid, and the results show that the scheme can efficiently reduce the utility grid’s average energy cost and load.
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Studies based on comprehensive energy trading include the following: Hamouda et al.
[56] proposed a comprehensive transactional energy market framework with linked blockchain and power system layers, a new-type market structure based on end-user marginal price, and an adaptive blockchain that adapts to the requirements of the inherent power system. The author applied it to the self-designed energy trading platform, and the results show that the scheme can make the trading price more flexible, increase the incentive effect, and improve fairness. Aloqaily et al.
[55] proposed demanded forecasting content and also a solution combining a hybrid energy trading system with the smart contract of a collaborative power grid.
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Research based on market architecture includes the following studies: Hamouda et al.
[56] proposed a new market structure based on the marginal price of end-users at the same time. Zia et al.
[57] proposed the concept of a local energy market based on the existing tradable energy system architecture, critically analyzed the energy trade within the tradable energy system, reviewed and discussed the potential of the community energy market, and summarized the advantages and limitations of P2P and community energy market.
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Considering cross-chain technology includes the following studies: Wang et al.
[58] proposed a novel two-layer energy blockchain network, which stores private transaction data and publicly available information separately. Based on the optimized cross-chain interoperability technology, the blockchain network fully considers the special attributes of the energy transactions. This method was applied to the transaction scenario of the Erlianhot distributed power market in China, and the results show that this method can improve the reliability of P2P transactions and facilitate supervision.
For points (1)–(9), a summary is in Figure 6. The proportion of the literature discussed roughly reflects the popularity of the corresponding research content.
Figure 6. Research situation of blockchain in different fields of energy market.
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/en15134516