Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading in Virtual Power Plant Based on Blockchain Smart Contracts

Abstract

A novel Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading scheme for a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) is proposed by using Smart Contracts on Ethereum Blockchain Platform. The P2P energy trading is the recent trend the power society is keen to adopt carrying out several trial projects as it eases to generate and share the renewable energy sources in a distributed manner inside local community. Blockchain and smart contracts are the up-and-coming phenomena in the scene of the information technology used to be considered as the cutting-edge research topics in power systems. Earlier works on P2P energy trading including and excluding blockchain technology were focused mainly on the optimization algorithm, Information and Communication Technology, and Internet of Things. Therefore, the financial aspects of P2P trading in a VPP framework is focused and in that regard a P2P energy trading mechanism and bidding platform are developed. The proposed scheme is based on public blockchain network and auction is operated by smart contract addressing both cost and security concerns. The smart contract implementation and execution in a VPP framework including bidding, withdrawal, and control modules developments are the salient feature of this work. The proposed architecture is validated using realistic data with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) environment of Ropsten Test Network.