Electric energy supply chain finance and pricing in an energy blockchain environment: Sustainable energy bonds and evolutionary game theory

Climate change is one of today's most important problems, which is tried to be solved by different solutions, namely the utilization of renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources can be used to produce electric energy through Distributed Generation (DG). The energy generated through this method can be shared with different prosumers inside the network on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis using blockchains to facilitate transactions and provide a business platform where sellers and consumers can mutually exchange energy. The aim of this paper is to study two main issues. First, the pricing of prosumers in the energy blockchain will be studied through game theory, using an evolutionary, a non-cooperative, and a Stackelberg game among buyers, sellers, and the two levels of sellers and buyers respectively. Then the financing problem for establishing an energy blockchain using sustainable energy bonds under different default rates will be studied. Through this study optimal prices of selling energy for each seller was found. It could be seen that, the hourly income and the total welfare of the participants in the blockchain have increased steadily until reaching an equilibrium point. Then the specifications of sustainable energy bonds issued in order to establish an energy blockchain under different default rates and maturity period was estimated using the outcome of pricing section. Under presumed limitations, it was found that when the maturity period of the project is shorter and when the credit rating grade for the contractor company is lower, the periodic interest rate should be kept higher.