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Technology and Infrastructure

Blockchain

lead-authors: contributors: Vitaliy Soloviy reviewers: version: 0.5 updated: 26 March 2026 sensitivity: low ai-use: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) was used for initial drafting, awaiting full editorial development, reviewed by Vitaliy Soloviy on 27 March 2026. status: draft

Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies offer mechanisms for recording and executing energy transactions without a central intermediary, enabling new forms of peer-to-peer trading, renewable energy certificate tracking, and grid coordination.

Why this matters

Blockchain has the potential to reduce transaction costs in energy markets, enable communities to trade locally produced electricity directly, and create tamper-resistant audit trails for renewable certificates. Issues requiring attention include energy consumption, scalability, and governance: decentralised systems still require rules about who can participate and how disputes are resolved, which may require centralised authority of some kind. Evidence from pilot projects is mixed, and regulatory frameworks for blockchain-based energy trading remain to be developed in most jurisdictions.1)

Distributed ledger technologies can enable peer-to-peer energy transactions without intermediaries, but it matters who provides platforms and oversees them.

Shared definitions

Perspectives

Actors and stakeholders

Technologies and infrastructure

Institutional structures

Distinctions and overlaps

Grid edge · Energy communities · Virtual power plants · Markets · Grid

1)
Andoni, M., Robu, V., Flynn, D., Abram, S., Geach, D., Jenkins, D., McCallum, P., & Peacock, A. (2019). Blockchain technology in the energy sector: A systematic review of challenges and opportunities. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 100, 143–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.10.014