Quartierstrom -- Implementation of a real world prosumer centric local energy market in Walenstadt, Switzerland

Abstract

Prosumers in many regions are facing reduced feed-in tariffs and currently have no possibility to influence the level of remuneration for the locally produced solar energy. Peer-to-peer communities may offer an alternative to the feed-in tariff model by enabling prosumers to directly sell their solar energy to local consumers (possibly at a rate that is beneficial for both consumer and prosumer). The Quartierstrom project investigates a transactional energy system that manages the exchange and remuneration of electricity between consumers, prosumers and the local electric grid provider in the absence of intermediaries. This whitepaper describes the prototypical real-world system being implemented in the town of Walenstadt, Switzerland, with 37 participating households. The community members of this pilot project pay a reduced tariff for grid usage if the electricity produced by a prosumer is sold to another community member, which is located on the same voltage or grid level downstream a substation1. Such a tariff structure incentivizes local balancing, i.e. locally produced energy can be consumed locally whenever possible to avoid costs from higher grid levels. The blockchain is a novel technology suitable to log the produced and consumed units of energy within a community, making it possible to implement market places. In those marketplaces, both prosumers and consumers can indicate a price at which they are willing to sell / buy locally produced solar energy without the intermediation of a utility. The key goals of this project are the assessment of A) the technical, economical and ecological feasibility of a blockchain-based community energy system regarding local utilization of solar energy, grid quality and energy efficiency and B) resulting dynamics regarding local market prices and user acceptance.