Multiscale design for system-wide peer-to-peer energy trading

Authors: Thomas Morstyn, Iacopo Savelli, Cameron Hepburn

Published in:  One Earth, Volume 4, Issue 5, 21 May 2021, Pages 629-638 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.04.018

Date Published: 21 May 2021

Abstract: 

The integration of renewable generation and the electrification of heating and transportation are critical for the sustainable energy transition toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. These changes require the large-scale adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs). Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading has gained attention as a new approach for incentivizing the uptake and coordination of DERs, with advantages for computational scalability, prosumer autonomy, and market competitiveness. However, major unresolved challenges remain for scaling out P2P trading, including enforcing network constraints, managing uncertainty, and mediating transmission and distribution conflicts. Here, we propose a novel multiscale design framework for P2P trading, with inter-platform coordination mechanisms to align local transactions with system- level requirements, and analytical tools to enhance long-term planning and investment decisions by accounting for forecast real-time operation. By integrating P2P trading into planning and operation across spatial and temporal scales, the adoption of large-scale DERs is tenable and can create economic, environmental, and social co-benefits.

Keywords: distributed energy resource; flexibility; local energy market; market design; multiagent control; multiscale design; network planning; peer-to-peer platform; power system; spatial; temporal; timescale

Insights for EnergyREV:

Multiscale design offers a new approach for integrating peer-to-peer energy trading as a core part of how power systems are designed and operated. This allows SLES to be more efficiently managed and integrated at the national scale, in a whole system approach.