Development of a Blockchain-Based Energy Trading Scheme for Prosumers

Abstract

The combination of consumer owned Distributed Energy Resources, new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), as well as changes to the national electricity regulations have created new opportunities for consumer engagement in the electricity sector. In this paper, this combination of technologies and regulations is examined in the Portuguese context. The new regulations dealing with self-consumption from prosumers are combined with smart contracts and distributed ledger technology to formulate an automated energy trading system for residential end-users in local energy markets. Results show that including prosumers in the local energy market brings significant benefits to all market participants. Additionally, results show that the newly created regulatory role of a Market Facilitator is beneficial to these type of local energy exchanges.