Blockchain Technology for Managing Energy Exchanges in Power Distribution Systems
[Thesis]
Adeyemi, Sarah Adetomike
Shahidehpour, Mohammad
Illinois Institute of Technology
2020
60 p.
M.S.
Illinois Institute of Technology
2020
The rapid increase in distributed energy resources (DERs) has diversified the resources and components available to consumers. This change in the general structure of power distribution systems has resulted in a need for a proper infrastructure to facilitate energy transactions between consumers and the grid. Transactive energy (TE) is considered a promising solution towards addressing the challenges with modern grid management and is being developed in order to fully accommodate these changes created by the integration of DERs into the grid. To supplement transactive energy techniques, blockchain technologies have attracted the attention of multiple control, operation, and planning entities in the energy industry. Blockchain technologies, which allow a shared and distributed database, allow for secure, transparent, economic, and automated operations in power distribution systems. In this thesis, we review TE systems and their benefits towards the optimization of grid functionality. We discuss various some existing TE control techniques and frameworks under development, highlighting transactive blockchain applications. We introduce how blockchains work and can be utilized to enhance the operation of power distribution systems. The benefits and challenges of transactive energy and blockchain applications in power distribution systems are discussed and addressed in this work.