Abstract
Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading could help address grid management challenges in a decentralizing electricity system, as well as provide other social and environmental benefits. Many existing and proposed trading schemes are enabled by blockchain, a distributed ledger technology (DLT) relying on cryptographic proof of ownership rather than human intermediaries to establish energy transactions. This study used an online survey experiment (n = 2064) to investigate how consumer demand for blockchain-enabled peer-to-peer energy trading schemes in the United Kingdom varies depending on how the consumer proposition is designed and communicated. The analysis provides some evidence of a preference for schemes offering to meet a higher proportion of participants’ energy needs and for those operating at the city/region (as compared to national or neighbourhood) level. People were more likely to say they would participate when the scheme was framed as being run by their local council, followed by an energy supplier, community energy organization, and social media company. Anonymity was the most valued DLT characteristic and mentioning blockchain’s association with Bitcoin led to a substantial decrease in intended uptake. We highlight a range of important questions and implications suggested by these findings for the introduction and operation of P2P trading schemes.
Highlights
A table showing the other main variables we recorded about the participants is included in Appendix B
P2P trading scheme of the kind we described would be most popular with individuals that are concerned about climate change, have their own renewable energy installation, are early adopters of technology and are of a young age
The results provide an interesting picture of what UK energy consumers would value in a blockchain-enabled peer-to-peer energy trading scheme, while raising several important questions
Summary
Blockchains are a distributed ledger technology (DLT) relying on cryptographic proof of transaction validity to enable peer-to-peer (P2P) trading. A copy of this unalterable ledger of sequentially ordered transactions is held by all participants (‘nodes’, i.e., computers). Participants help verify new transactions and at the same time update the ledger [4]. Blockchain is one of the methods making peer-to-peer energy trading possible by measuring and recording imported and exported electricity with the help of a smart meter. Based on this data, sellers and buyers of self-generated energy are matched by the system, which goes on to financially settle their
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