Authors: M. Pipattanasomporn, M. Kuzlu and S. Rahman
Conference: 2019 IEEE Power & Energy Society Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT)
DOI: 10.1109/ISGT.2019.8791663
Abstract: Over the past decade, high penetration of rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) has been observed in many countries. The availability of rooftop solar PV at customer premises has transformed a house into an energy prosumer that can both consume and export electricity. With proper regulations in place, homeowners can become a market participant who can buy and sell excess solar electricity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) trading environment. With the emerging blockchain technology, it will be possible to securely keep track of such solar electricity exchange without a third party oversight. The objective of this paper is to discuss the conceptual architecture of the blockchain-based platform for exchange of solar electricity in a neighborhood. Several open-source blockchain platforms are reviewed, including Hyperledger, Ethereum and Corda. Experiments developed on one of the well-known open-source blockchain platforms are discussed that describe how a P2P exchange of solar electricity can be set up in a laboratory environment.