The benefits of peer-to-peer renewable energy trading and battery storage backup for local grid

Abstract

Global warming is encouraging people to use renewable energy sources, so the use of distributed generation in homes and the exchange of energy pose many challenges for traditional grids. Peer-to-peer energy trading is one of the promising ways to tackle the use of distributed generation and environmental problems. In this research, a peer-to-peer energy trading system is designed where each house has different types of decentralized generations as well as battery storage and can trade electricity directly with either peers or the power grid without intermediaries. Moreover, this local grid, considers a central battery to reduce dependence on the power grid and efficiently use the excess energy of the houses. The proposed mathematical model is simulated according to real-world data from Iran, and a comparison is made between a model with the possibility of trading energy in a peer-to-peer grid and a model without this possibility; it turns out that the use of peer-to-peer trade can enable significant profits and benefits for peers, and central battery storage can play a crucial role in increasing profit for all peers.