A Solution for Bi-layer Energy Trading Management in Microgrids Using Multi-Blockchain

In recent years, microgrids have attracted much attention as one of the typical applications of the Internet of Things (IoT). With the development of renewable energy, a bi-layer energy trading scenario of microgrids has emerged. In the upper layer, the microgrids trade energy with each other, and in the lower layer, users trade energy within the microgrid. Traditional management schemes based on the cooperation mode or island mode of the microgrids can no longer meet the needs of energy trading. In this paper, we propose an energy trading management solution for the bi-layer energy trading scenario. In order to maximize the bi-layer’s (i.e., users’ and microgrid operators’ (MGOs)) utility functions under the condition of the local energy supply and demand, we propose a multi-objective optimization model. To solve the optimization model, we give a solution Energy Trading Management Algorithm (ETMA) based on the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA). Moreover, the proposed energy trading framework which is based on multi-blockchain ensures the security and privacy of energy trading, and a consensus mechanism named Delegated Proof of Reputation (DPoR) is proposed to urge users to complete the transaction according to their promised trading schemes. Experiments based on the real data of Guizhou are done to evaluate the performance of the proposed optimization model. The results show that our proposed model can achieve better performance in terms of users’ and MGOs’ utility functions in the bi-layer energy trading scenario compared with the traditional models.