Peer-to-peer energy trading for smart energy communities

Local energy communities (LECs) comprise prosumers cooperating for the satisfaction of their energy needs. Prosumers are community members that can both produce and consume energy. LECs facilitate the integration of renewables and provide the potential for reducing energy costs. Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading allows direct energy exchange between members of a local energy community. The surplus of energy from renewables is traded to meet a local consumption demand so that costs and revenues stay within community avoiding transmission losses and stress on the grid. This study presents a design of the peer-to-peer market for local energy communities where prosumers are rational and self-interested agents acting selfishly in an attempt to optimize their trades. The market design aims to ensure self-consumption of locally produced energy and provides incentives for balancing supply and demand within community. The proposed design is investigated in comparison with existing ones using theoretical analysis and simulations. The obtained results are promising and reveal advantageous properties of the proposed P2P energy trading.