Improving privacy in peer-to-peer energy-sharing systems: A data-centric architectural approach

Abstract

Energy-sharing systems increasingly leverage decentralized infrastructures and peer-to-peer networks to minimize transmission and distribution losses of renewable energy sources. In these systems, prosumers’ personal data may be shared with suppliers or subcontractors without their knowledge during energy transactions. Despite employing intelligent and tamper-proof technologies to enhance traceability of energy production and consumption, mechanisms for secure and transparent personal data management remain lacking—a core concept in privacy regulations. This problem includes the safe storage and transfer of data within the network and the absence of automated methods allowing consumers to control their personal information during the data processing life-cycle. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a new privacy-preserving platform designed to secure prosumers’ data collection and processing. A key component is a monitoring tool that enhances transparency by automatically logging and immutably recording all data accesses. This tool enables both prosumers and trusted arbiters to be informed about any access to personal data and to verify or detect privacy violations. The proposed platform offers fundamental privacy rights mandated by privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in an adaptable design. Its performance and overhead are evaluated through a prototype implementation tested in a simulated energy-sharing system environment.