Blockchain-based Local Energy Grids: Advanced Use Cases and Architectural Considerations

Energy markets worldwide are undergoing a transformative change from fossil energy sources and centralized setups to renewable energy sources and highly decentralized markets with peer-to-peer trading. Blockchain technology has been considered a fundamental enabler for building decentralized energy systems and services. However, existing blockchain-based energy solutions may not be transferable to new contexts, as regulatory, infrastructural, and economic criteria and constrains may not fit or have not been made explicit with existing work. To this end, we present a 3+1 layer model for use case identification and for architecting their realization to ensure coverage early-on of the different critical dimensions. We report on findings from a major project running in Germany by describing five advanced use cases and discussing important architectural considerations.