Addressing Challenges in Prosumer-Based Microgrids With Blockchain and an IEC 61850-Based Communication Scheme

Abstract

Since the advent of the microgrid (MG) concept, almost two decades ago, the energy sector has evolved from a centralized operational approach to a distributed generation paradigm challenged by the increasing number of distributed energy resources (DERs) mainly based on renewable energy. This has encouraged new business models and management strategies looking for a balance between energy generation and consumption, and promoting an efficient utilization of energy resources within MGs and minimizing costs for the market participants. In this context, this paper introduces an efficient management strategy, which is aimed at obtaining a fair division of costs billed by the utilities, without relying on a centralized utility or MG aggregator, through the design of a local event-based energy market within the MG. This event-driven MG energy market operates with blockchain (BC) technology based on smart contracts for electricity transactions to both guarantee veracity and immutability of the data and automate the transactions. The event-based energy market approach focuses on two of the design limitations of BC, namely the amount of information to be stored and the computational burden, which are significantly reduced while maintaining a high level of performance. Furthermore, the prosumer data is obtained by using IEC 61850 standard-based commands within the BC framework. By doing so, the system is compatible with any device irrespective of the manufacturer implementing the IEC 61850 standard. The advantages of this management approach are considerable for: MG participants, in terms of financial benefits; the MG itself, as it can operate more independently from the main grid; and the grid since the MG becomes less unpredictable due to the internal energy exchanges. The proposed strategy is validated on an experimental setup employing low-cost devices.

Aperiodic two-layer energy management system for community microgrids based on blockchain strategy

“…According to [15], most research in the field fails to tackle the practical challenges LEM poses. For instance, the ever-growing database due to the rapidly increasing requirements for storage capacity for the practical implementation of BC technology on a large scale, has been largely neglected in the literature [30].…”

“…Furthermore, in this work, an aperiodic strategy [30] is proposed to significantly reduce the amount of data to be stored for an effective operation. This strategy contrasts with the traditional LEMs and reconfiguration algorithms, which are executed when a certain fixed time elapses (daily, hourly, every fifteen minutes, etc…).…”

“…It is also used to send the control commands to the sectionalizing and tie switches. By ensuring that the elements that make up the CMG (smart meters, switches, …), comply with the standard, the distributed control and the reading process of their electrical parameters are guaranteed from the blockchain as proved in [30].…”

Turning Base Transceiver Stations into Scalable and Controllable DC Microgrids Based on a Smart Sensing Strategy

“…In this type of billing, prices are significantly more expensive for the peak time (PT) tariff in comparison the off-peak (OT) tariff. This type of pricing scheme is particularly recommended for the case under study for two reasons: (i) the PV energy generation takes place mostly during the PT period, which encourages self-consumption at times when the price of energy is higher; and (ii) the energy consumption in the BTS does not tend to vary greatly during the day and the average daily price of energy with two periods is usually lower than the default tariff, which makes the total price of energy consumed by the BTS lower in the case of a two-tariff pricing scheme [ 54 ].…”

Blockchain and Internet of Things for Electrical Energy Decentralization: A Review and System Architecture

“…Based on offer and demand, it is possible to set the clearing price of each auction [38], which represents the balance between producers and consumers and which results from the auction that is held every hour, as stated in Figure 12. This price is determined automatically through the trading mechanism and consider an average price for selling energy of 0.039 €/kWh and a buying price of 0.095 €/kWh on the peak period between 13 to 23 h [54].…”