Blockchain-Assisted Decentralized Energy Management Framework for loT-Enabled Microgrid System

Abstract

In the modern world, the integration of renewable energy sources has made decentralized energy management possible within the microgrids. Traditional centralized energy systems proved to be inefficient and less secure compared to contemporary decentralized ones, where houses can consume and generate electricity at the same time, making profit of it. This can be achieved by owning a rooftop solar panel, wind turbines and many other sources of renewable energy. However, it is important to note that such energy trading can cause serious security risks if not handled properly. Hence, a secure and transparent mechanism for recording energy transactions is required. This project’s main motivation came from the need to integrate microgrid energy management with a mechanism for a safe and efficient blockchain-based market energy coordination. Traditional grid-centered energy management networks cannot provide a fully transparent and effective method for grid users to exchange energy locally. Moreover, energy is mostly statically priced without a direct linkage between supply and demand in real time. Thus, a regular energy balancing is required with a dynamic determination of local trading prices, as well as the secure energy market transactions record. A blockchain-assisted decentralized energy management framework for an loT-enabled microgrid system is the final design solution. Data is collected from the laboratory grid using smart meters, which is then processed by the Node-RED to be stored in CSV files, using Python programming language for data validation and preparation. In the project 15 real houses data is processed, a supply-demand ratio (SDR) is calculated and dynamic internal prices bounded by Kazakhstan grid tariffs (30.56 / 22.68 KZT/kWh) are determined, with the priority given to peer-to-peer energy trading before interaction with the main grid. Furthermore, local asks and bids, market-clearing actions are recorded in the form of hashes and blockchain blocks for security with all the data being visualized in a web dashboard.