Blockchain-based energy trading in electric vehicle enabled microgrids

This article presents a blockchain-based scheme for energy trading between electric vehicles (prosumers) and critical load (consumer) in a microgrid. Unlike traditional wholesale energy markets where retailers sell energy to consumers, our proposed model directly connects prosumers with consumers to exchange energy. We exploit blockchain technology to establish a trusted energy trading ecosystem. The article provides an overview of the blockchain enabled architecture that facilitates peer-to-peer energy trade in a logical network, using the building blocks provided by 5G network. An energy trading prototype is developed to remotely monitor energy trading activities between prosumers and consumer, using graphical user interface. Experimental results based on a real map of Paisley illustrate that the energy trading system is effective in finding, associating and routing prosumers to consumers, while protecting privacy of entities. Numerical results show a favorable performance of our optimization model in comparison to traditional frameworks.