A Coexistence Analysis of Blockchain, SCADA Systems, and OpenADR for Energy Services Provision

Abstract

The advent of blockchain technology allows the raise of new business models for the electricity market, opening the way also to end-users and letting them offer regulation services to the power grid. Thanks to the characteristic of being distributed, the blockchain technology could be a solution to balancing problems caused by the penetration of renewable sources, implementing a platform for Demand-Response programs delivery. Demand-Response allows consumers to respond to market signals by increasing or reducing their energy consumption, contributing to greater flexibility and stability of the grid and to a more efficient use of infrastructures and energy resources. Currently, Demand-Response is carried out by controlling aggregates of loads, storage or generating units managed by centralized Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems such as SCADA. Regulatory changes and the increasing penetration of renewable sources distributed over the territory are turning the whole electricity system into a smart-grid. More recently and with reference to the end-users participation in regulation services, smartness is achieved through the so-called Internet of Things, which can be considered the modern equivalent of SCADA, but with the possibility of to being applied to distributed and diversified assets. For this reason, great efforts have been made to study the interoperability and coexistence between Internet of Things and blockchain, two emerging paradigms that are gaining popularity in the energy world. Limited or no contribution can instead be found in the literature on the integration of SCADA systems and blockchain. Indeed, in order to ensure an easier and faster widespread application of blockchain in the context of power systems, it is interesting to study its possible coexistence with legacy and more established industrial technologies such as OpenADR or SCADA. In Europe, the prevailing technology is the latter one. For this reason, in this paper, the coexistence of blockchain technology with SCADA systems is discussed. In particular, both Hyperledger Fabric blockchain and SCADA systems are considered together to assess the feasibility of aggregation of energy resources for Demand-Response, as well as the relevant measured data. The analysis is carried out by first presenting the two different paradigms: the centralized data acquisition in trusted environments and analysis via OpenADR and SCADA, and the global, distributed and secured ones with the blockchain. Then an architecture for the integration of SCADA and blockchain technology is proposed and the related challenges within the frame of a project for innovative technologies DR programs implementation are outlined.