Seamless Grid: An off-chain model proposal for scalable P2P electricity markets and grids management

The increasing interest shown in Blockchain Technology in recent years has involved also the electric energy sector which is seeking new solutions to manage the rising penetration into the grid of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and Demand Response (DR) users and their secure operational integration into the electricity markets. The participation of small distributed resources to a Peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity market running without the intermediation of a trusted third party represents an additional challenge for which the research has addressed Blockchain as a possible game changer solution. This work aims to propose a model based on Bitcoin Blockchain and the Lightning Network - an off-chain second layer protocol - in order to manage fast and secure transactions of electricity in a prototype 3 nodes grids. This model represents a novel solution that, even based on a solid blockchain system, can overcome the intrinsic trustlessness versus scalability limits that affects traditional public blockchains.