A Transactive Energy Architecture for Integration of Energy Communities in Virtual Power Plants

Energy communities (ECs) are at the core of the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) ecosystems. While ECs can coordinate small-scale decisions on energy trading, grid control, and ancillary services among neighboring prosumers, VPPs can leverage the data from different ECs for larger-scale decisions. However, a lack of a comprehensive architecture that considers energy market rules and the communication and computation limitations of the grid and edge devices, while guaranteeing grid security and users’ privacy, is an obstacle to the implementation and adoption of ECs. In this paper, we present a decentralized architecture where prosumers within an EC can securely reach a consensus about local scheduling and energy trading decisions. These data can be processed by VPPs for participation in the wholesale electricity markets, or by Independent System Operators (ISOs) for decision-making regarding grid management. We propose a novel consensus method called Local Consensus and a Sybilresistance method called Proof of Demand Response (PoDR) as the underlying components of our architecture that can address the limitations of current blockchain-based solutions. This method is precisely tailored for ECs by considering specific limitations and requirements of existing grid infrastructure.