Digitalization and decentralization driving transactive energy Internet: Key technologies and infrastructures

Abstract

With the increasing access of renewable energy resources and fast ubiquitous connection of everything, the traditional one-way power flow from centralized generation to end consumers will give way to bidirectional-way power flow with multidirectional energy network among central grids and distributed prosumers. To empower the prosumer-centric Energy Internet (EI) and enhance the integration of energy-aware services, digitalization and decentralization are the key enablers to achieve transactive EI. This article presents a systematic overview on how Internet of Things (IoT) drives the digitalization of transactive EI and how blockchain empowers the decentralization of transactive EI. A comprehensive discussion on the key infrastructures is provided for presenting how to implement digitalization and decentralization of transactive EI, including the last mile “Advanced metering infrastructure” (AMI), renewables integrator “smart inverter”, energy flow adjuster “energy router”, and coordinator “Microgrid”. Challenges and future trends are discussed from an extensive point of view, including energy physical space, data cyber space and human social space.