Siemens-EPSRC: Blockchain-enabled cloud-edge coordination for demand side manangement

为了实现净零目标，可再生能源（RES）的极高渗透率将被纳入电网。可再生能源固有的不确定性和间歇性，可能会造成电力不平衡、电压违和、频率波动，最终导致大规模停电，阻碍净零目标的实现，从而威胁电力系统的安全。需求侧管理（DSM）被视为提高电力系统运作灵活性的灵丹妙药，以符合成本效益的方式促进可再生能源的容纳。DSM是指根据市场信号动态调整客户的电力和能源需求，以提高本地电力系统的可靠性、弹性、可持续性、安全性和经济性的技术。虽然DSM在整个运行时间线上提供多供应服务的价值，包括平衡服务、可再生支持、网络支持、频率响应提供、电压调节提供和容量市场，已经被广泛量化，但实际实现这种价值，同时以可持续、隐私保护和安全的方式管理大规模异构需求，仍然需要进一步研究。在大多数现有方案中，DSM是由远程集中聚合器的云计算设施执行的。因此，现场捕获的需求数据必须经过很长的物理距离才能到达聚合器的云。虽然云计算功能强大、成熟且无处不在，但由于通过共享基础设施传输大量异构数据，其集中性受到了DSM对带宽和时延的要求。此外，一些工业和住宅位于能源贫乏地区，基础设施欠发达。因此，他们的数据无法通过可靠的网络连接获得，这阻碍了他们参与DSM方案。使用DSM可能会加剧贫富社区的不平等，因为富裕社区将更好地从DSM中受益。此外，集中式计算可能会导致隐私问题，因为每个消费者都需要将其专有需求数据提交给中央聚合器的云中心。在这方面，现有的云计算应跨多个站点和网络进行扩展，以便及时处理数据，同时确保效率和健壮性。本项目采用先进的数字化技术解决了上述挑战。首先，我们研究了DSM应用下的各种云边缘协调框架，这些框架可以根据不同类型的服务提供、边缘的可用性/能力以及消费者的选择，智能地动态地为云和边缘中心分配不同的任务。其次，我们研究了区块链在本地处理器数据管理和服务性能评估中的应用，保证了数据的真实性和完整性，而无需额外的硬件投资。因此，即使是欠发达的行业和家庭也可以确保存储数据的安全。此外，智能合约可以用来评估需求提供的服务的性能。最后，我们提出了在无线通信环境下使用区块链的安全通信框架。将研究一种结合哈希、数字签名和非对称加密的新型动态数据完整性系统，以保护和传输数据，实现从智能电表到云中心的整个系统的端到端安全交互。该通信框架是专门针对LTE和5G基站提供的当前无线通信网络进行优化的。

To achieve the net-zero target, extremely high penetration of renewable energy resources (RES) will be integrated into the grid. The inherent uncertainty and intermittency of RES could threaten power system security by causing power imbalance, voltage violation, frequency fluctuation, and eventually a large-scale blackout, which may prevent the achievement of the net-zero target. Demand-side management (DSM) is regarded as a silver bullet to enhance the power system operational flexibility for boosting the accommodation of RES in a cost-effective manner. DSM refers to the techniques that can dynamically adjust the customer's power and energy demand based on market signals for enhancing the reliability, resilience, sustainability, security, and economics of local power systems. While the value of DSM to provide multi-provision service across the whole operation timeline, including balancing service, renewable support, network support, frequency response provision, voltage regulation provision, and capacity market, has been widely quantified, the actual implementation to achieve such value by simultaneously managing large-scale heterogeneous demand in a sustainable, privacy-preserved, and secure manner still requires further investigation.Under most of the existing schemes, DSM is performed by a remote centralized aggregator's cloud computing facility. Therefore, the onsite captured demand data has to traverse through a long physical distance to the aggregator's cloud. Although cloud computing is powerful, mature, and ubiquitous, its centralized nature suffers from the bandwidth and time delay requirement of DSM due to the massive heterogeneous data transmission through shared infrastructure. Furthermore, some industries and houses are located in the energy-poor area with less-developed infrastructure. Therefore, their data are not reachable over reliable network connections, which prevents their participation in DSM schemes. The inequality of rich and poor communities could be exacerbated by using the DSM since rich communities will better benefits from DSM. In addition, centralized computing could result in privacy concerns as each consumer is required to submit its proprietary demand data to the central aggregator's cloud center. In this context, the existing cloud computing should be expanded across multi-sites and networks for timely data processes while ensuring efficiency and robustness.This project solves the mentioned challenges by using advanced digitalization technologies. First, we investigate various frameworks for cloud-edge coordination under DSM application, which can intelligently and dynamically assign different tasks to the cloud and edge centers based on different types of service provision, the availability/capability of edge, and the choice of consumers. Second, we investigate the application of blockchain for data management and service performance evaluation for local processors, which guarantee that data authenticity and integrity are guaranteed without extra investment in hardware. As a result, even less-developed industries and houses can ensure that the stored data is secure. Moreover, the smart contract can be employed to evaluate the performance of the service provided by the demand. Finally, we propose a secure communication framework using blockchain in the wireless communication environment. A novel dynamic data integrity system combining hash, digital signature, and asymmetric encryption will be investigated to protect and transmit data for end-to-end secure interaction across the entire system, from smart meters to cloud centers. The communication framework is specially optimized for the current wireless communication network provided by the LTE and 5G base stations.