Towards the Blockchain-Enabled Offshore Wind Energy Supply Chain

2021

The increasing amount of distributed energy resources including renewable energy systems and electric vehicles is expected to change electric power grids significantly, where conventional consumers are transformed to prosumers since they can produce electricity as well. In such an ecosystem, prosumers can start offering their excess energy to supply demands of the other customers on the grids behind the meter without interference of distribution system operators (DSO). Besides, DSOs require more accurate and more frequent data form prosumers' net demand to be able to operate their network efficiently. The main challenge in these new distribution grids is the amount of data that needs to be collected in this platform is unbelievably high, and more immortally, prosumers will likely refuse to share their information with DSOs due to their potential privacy and economic concerns. Blockchain technology as an efficient distributed solution for management of data and financial transact...

2017

Today’s energy system has originally been developed based on central energy production and a passive consumer, whose interests have to be represented by the energy suppliers and distribution system operators. However, the industry is quickly changing. The share of renewable energy is growing, and consumers are increasingly involved in the production of energy. As a result, the share of intermittent energy sources increases and so does the need for flexibility in the energy industry. Therefore, it is questioned whether the current system in the energy industry still fits with today’s developments. To allow for flexible demand and supply of energy, digital technology for communication between computers or devices and electricity providers and consumers will become necessary. This will help to balance production and consumption at each time resolution, without high costs and unnecessary bothering of consumers. Blockchain is a technology that could potentially serve as a solution for a ...

Computers & Industrial Engineering

This paper reviews major use cases for blockchain architectures relevant to the energy sector and continues with a critical review of issues to study in future research work including as related to energy consumption of blockchain architectures and ensuring a reliable distribution network and security of supply. It also reviews what is happening in the market with relation to smart contracts.

Amfiteatru Economic

The European Union is accelerating its transition to energy independence by 2030 in response to new geopolitical realities. This study aims to demonstrate the advantages of blockchain technology for the energy sector and how renewable sources themselves may lower costs and generate significant amounts of electricity. These networks encourage the use of renewable energy sources in place of conventional ones and enable sustainable consumption reduction at the same time. The paper demonstrates how blockchain may connect to renewable energy sources, most often solar and wind, to grow this industry in a sustainable way. New technologies like blockchain have sparked the emergence of contemporary forms of trade and consumption. The collaborative and circular economies represent a nexus of economic, technological, and socio-cultural phenomena brought about by technological advancements and economic disruption. Blockchain technology offers a wide range of non-financial applications, and its use is acknowledged as a brand-new opportunity for sustainability and energy. The goal of this study is to clarify the relationship between the two and determine whether blockchain technology can be sustainable for the development of the energy market. The paper is addressed to all parties involved in the energy, blockchain, and sustainability industries.

Journal of Electronic Science and Technology, 2019

The ongoing, in-depth transformation of the electricity sector towards increased use of alternative, renewable energy sources extends beyond a simple decentralisation drive in the electricity market. The transformation process is characterised by the interplay of old and new technologies from the energy sector as well as structural coupling with other sectors, such as the information and communications technology (ICT), enabling the technology transfer as well as market entry by information technology (IT) actors. Blockchain-based technologies have the potential to play a key role in this transition by offering decentralised interfaces and systems as well as an alternative approach to the current organisation form of the energy market. This paper discusses the applicability and prospects for blockchain-based technologies in the energy sector, which are described using the term "blockchain energy". For the purposes of this study, blockchain energy encompasses all socio-technical and organisational configurations in the energy sector based on the utilisation of the blockchain principle for energy trading, information storage, and/or increased transparency of energy flows and energy services. In the following chapters, the authors present and discuss the current transformation in the electricity market, followed by a review of the different utilisation possibilities for blockchain technologies in the energy sector and a discussion of the barriers and potential for blockchain energy using a transition studies perspective. Finally, the opportunities and risks of blockchain energy are discussed.

Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2020

The ease of access to renewable energy production by users has made possible the emergence of individuals who are self-sufficient and sell their energy to the grid, prosumers. This fact is implying a change in the current paradigm, in which energy can be acquired directly from individuals and not necessarily from the multinationals that monopolise the market. However, so that this change can be carried out, solving the risks that any type of system connected to Internet has, it is possible to make use of the blockchain technology, which it is needed more research to being mass adopted.

Energies

Blockchain has peculiar characteristics among various digital technologies due to its decentralised and cryptographic properties. The combination of intelligent energy systems and blockchain can innovate new forms of transactive energy and navigate the digital journey to transform the future of renewable energy systems. This review studies various blockchain implementations in the smart energy domain and presents the findings on operational and transactional challenges in a blockchain-based smart renewable energy system. We also identify the differences between operations and transactions in smart energy systems. Furthermore, we identify the most pronounced cryptocurrencies in different studies. The findings highlighted various challenges concerning the implementation of blockchain-based smart energy systems. We identified how these challenges spawn across operational and transactional deliverables. Building on these findings, we discuss various challenges impacting the operational ...

Sustainability

Satisfying the world’s rapidly increasing demands in energy via the optimized management of available resources is becoming one of the most important research trends worldwide. When it comes to energy, it is very important to talk about decentralization, security, traceability and transparency. Thus, over the last few years, numerous research works have presented blockchain technology as the best novel business platform enabling a secure, transparent and tamper-proof energy management solution. In this paper, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) using the PRISMA framework of the different existing research studies related to the use of the blockchain technology in the energy sector, published between 2008 and 2021. We identified a total of 769 primary studies after intensive manual analysis and filtering, which we thoroughly assessed using various criteria to address six main research questions that covered the blockchain types, applications and platforms in the energy ...

2021

The increasing amount of distributed energy resources including renewable energy systems and electric vehicles is expected to change electric power grids significantly, where conventional consumers are transformed to prosumers since they can produce electricity as well. In such an ecosystem, prosumers can start offering their excess energy to supply demands of the other customers on the grids behind the meter without interference of distribution system operators (DSO). Besides, DSOs require more accurate and more frequent data form prosumers’ net demand to be able to operate their network efficiently. The main challenge in these new distribution grids is the amount of data that needs to be collected in this platform is unbelievably high, and more immortally, prosumers will likely refuse to share their information with DSOs due to their potential privacy and economic concerns. Blockchain technology as an efficient distributed solution for management of data and financial transactions...

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Today, the blockchain is synonymous of technological innovation, being recognised among the 10 top strategy technologies in 2018 by the consulting company Gartner, it is more and more adopted in different sectors. However, the initial enthusiasm around this technology is going beyond the peak of inflated expectations, towards more stable applications in money transactions, cryptocurrencies and Digital Commodity Exchanges. Essentially, misguided efforts, the overuse of blockchain, and the Bitcoin's price drop have been the main reasons for this decay in expectations. Nevertheless, the exploitation of the blockchain technology in the power systems area appears largely underexplored, furthermore, the relation to the physical asset makes the blockchain application more complex but also more reliable and related to measurable benefits. The most common applications in the power systems area relate to the energy market. When the blockchain technology is indeed applied to the energy field, the term energy blockchain is used. This article aims to propose a wide perspective about the application of the blockchain technology in the power systems area, clarifying some technical aspects concerning this promising technology, the features and applications developed so far, while focusing on the future of innovative applications in the electrical energy sector.