A blockchain-based resilient and secure framework for events monitoring and control in distributed renewable energy systems

Abstract

The rapid and green energy transition is essential to deal with the fast-growing energy needs in both public and industrial sectors. This has paved the way to integrate distributed renewable energy resources ($DERs$) such as solar, hydro, wind, and geothermal into the power grid ($PG$). Wind and solar are free, zero-carbon emission, and everlasting power sources that contribute 5% and 7% of global electricity generation, respectively. Therefore, the fast, secure, and reliable integration of these green $DERs$ is critical to achieve the instant energy demands. Smart grid $\left(SG\right)$ due to inherited characteristics such as intelligent sensing, computing, and communication technologies can effectively integrate the $DERs$. However, the existing smart grid communication architecture faces various cyberattacks, resulting in poor integration, monitoring, and control of $DERs$. In this respect, blockchain technology can provide fast, secure, and efficient end-to-end communication between $DERs$ in the smart grid. In this study, the authors propose a blockchain-based resilient and secure scheme called $\left(ABCD\right)$ for wireless sensor networks $\left(WSNs\right)$-based events monitoring and control in $DERs$. Experimental studies and performance analyses are carried out to predict the efficiency of the proposed scheme by considering numerous standard metrics. The extensive numerical results demonstrated that the proposed scheme is significant in terms of secure, resilient, and reliable information transmission for $DERs$ in $SG$.