A Framework for Decentralized Energy Trading Based on Blockchain Technology

The blockchain is a distributed database whose data are stored and managed in every node in the network. By design, the information of trade records is difficult to tamper. Therefore, it can deal with the trust problem without a central operator. Blockchain technology has brought about major reform in the financial field and has been paid more and more attention in many fields. The combination of blockchain technology and energy trade seems to have good prospects due to their common features of distribution, diversity and marketization. In this paper, a new decentralized energy trading framework based on blockchain technology is presented and analyzed. In this framework, four basic participators in the market are set, which are the consumer, supplier, speculator (with energy storage capacity) and regulator. In addition, the order format and price clearing mechanisms are designed accordingly. The new framework can accommodate a large number of entities and enable them to achieve better economic benefits. Small examples are used to analyze the framework. It is concluded that this technology has significant under-researched potential to support and enhance the efficiency gains of the energy revolution, and areas for future research are identified.