Schneiders, A;
Shipworth, D;
(2021)
Community energy groups: Can they shield consumers from the risks of using blockchain for peer-to-peer energy trading?
Energies
, 14
(12)
, Article 3569. 10.3390/en14123569.
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Abstract
Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading is emerging as a new mechanism for settling the ex-change of energy between renewable energy generators and consumers. P2P provides a mechanism for local balancing when it is facilitated through distributed ledgers (‘blockchains’). Energy communities across Europe have uncovered the potential of this technology and are currently running pi-lots to test its applicability in P2P energy trading. The aim of this paper is to assess, using legal literature and legislation, whether the legal forms available to energy communities in the United Kingdom (UK) can help resolve some of the uncertainties around the individual use of blockchain for P2P energy trading. This includes the legal recognition of ‘prosumers’, the protection of their personal data, as well as the validity of ‘smart contracts’ programmed to trade energy on the block-chain network. The analysis has shown that legal entities, such as Limited Liability Partnerships and Co-operative Societies, can play a crucial role in providing the necessary framework to protect consumers engaging in these transactions. This is particularly the case for co-operatives, given that they can hold members liable for not respecting the rules set out in their (compulsory) governing document. These findings are relevant to other European countries, where the energy co-operative model is also used.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Community energy groups: Can they shield consumers from the risks of using blockchain for peer-to-peer energy trading? |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/en14123569 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14123569 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited |
| Keywords: | peer-to-peer; energy trading; transactive energy; distributed ledger technology; blockchain; energy communities |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10130189 |
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