Energy resource network

1. An energy system comprising:

an energy resource device capable of delivering a quantum of energy, the energy resource device comprising a computing device having a processor configured to determine a quantum of energy available for supply and generate an offer message indicative of the quantum of energy available;

an energy-consuming device capable of accepting the quantum of energy from the energy resource device and comprising a processor configured to determine an available energy capacity and generate a cryptographically-secure energy request message;

a publicly-available distributed ledger comprising a plurality of data blocks, wherein each data block comprises information indicative of a cryptographic hash value of at least a part of a previous data block in the ledger;

a remote computing device in communication with the energy resource device and the energy-consuming device, wherein the at least one remote device manages the publicly-available distributed ledger and facilitates an energy transaction between the energy resource device and the energy-consuming device.

2. The energy system of claim 1 , wherein the energy resource device is at least one of: a solar panel, a wind turbine, a power station, or a fuel cell.

3. The energy system of claim 1 , wherein the energy-consuming device is at least one of: a storage unit, a lighting device, a heating device, a cooling device, a mobile computing device, or a battery.

4. The energy system of claim 1 , wherein the remote computing device is further configured to facilitate the energy transaction by at least:

monitoring offer messages from the energy resource device and energy request messages from the energy-consuming device;

analyzing energy consumption within the energy system; and

facilitating delivery of offer messages and energy request messages between the energy resource device and the energy-consuming device.

5. The energy system of claim 1 , further comprising a second remote computing device in communication with the first computing device, configured to locally store and maintain the publicly-available distributed ledger.

6. The energy system of claim 1 , wherein the publicly-available distributed ledger comprises a block chain.

7. The energy system of claim 1 , wherein the transaction record comprises information representative of at least one of an acceptance of the quantum of energy or a debit of an account associated with the energy-consuming device.

8. The energy system of claim 1 , wherein each offer-message comprises information representative of one or more of: a quantum of energy; a generating capacity of the energy resource; a time window; a price.

9. A method for operating an energy system, comprising:

receiving at least one of a cryptographically-secure offer message indicative of a quantum of energy available at an energy resource device, or a cryptographically-secure energy request message indicative of an available energy capacity at an energy-consuming device capable of receiving energy from the energy resource device;

managing, at a computing device in data communication with the energy resource device and the energy-consuming device, a publicly-available distributed ledger comprising a plurality of data blocks, wherein each data block comprises information indicative of a cryptographic hash value of at least a part of a previous data block in the ledger; and

facilitating an energy transaction between the energy resource device and the energy-consuming device.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

performing a verification routine on one or more cryptographically-secured transaction records; and

adding the one or more cryptographically-secured transaction records to the publicly-available distributed ledger if the verification routine is successful.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein performing the verification routine comprises at least one of:

processing the publicly-available distributed ledger in order to determine whether or not an energy resource associated with the transaction has sufficient energy to perform the transaction; or

processing the publicly-available distributed ledger in order to determine whether or not an energy resource associated with the transaction has sufficient energy-generating capacity available to perform the transaction.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising at least one of:

automatically issuing an offer-message if an available amount of energy, or an available capacity for providing energy, exceeds a high-energy-threshold level; or

automatically accepting or rejecting an offer-message by comparing one or more pieces of information of the offer-message with one or more predetermined acceptance-criteria.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the energy resource device is at least one of: a solar panel, a wind turbine, a power station, or a fuel cell.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the energy-consuming device is at least one of: a storage unit, a lighting device, a heating device, a cooling device, a mobile computing device, or a battery.

15. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, cause the computer program product to:

receive at least one of a cryptographically-secure offer message indicative of a quantum of energy available at an energy resource device, or a cryptographically-secure energy request message indicative of an available energy capacity at an energy-consuming device capable of receiving energy from the energy resource device;

manage, at a computing device in data communication with the energy resource device and the energy-consuming device, a publicly-available distributed ledger comprising a plurality of data blocks, wherein each data block comprises information indicative of a cryptographic hash value of at least a part of a previous data block in the ledger; and

facilitate an energy transaction between the energy resource device and the energy-consuming device.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 , further comprising instructions that cause the computer program product to at least:

process one or more cryptographically-secured transaction records; and,

determine a new block of data for the publicly-available distributed ledger by determining the cryptographic hash value by applying a hash algorithm to at least a part of a previous block in the publicly-available distributed ledger.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the energy resource device is at least one of: a solar panel, a wind turbine, a power station, or a fuel cell.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the energy-consuming device is at least one of: a storage unit, a lighting device, a heating device, a cooling device, a mobile computing device, or a battery.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the transaction record comprises information representative of at least one of an acceptance of the quantum of energy or a debit of an account associated with the energy-consuming device.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein each offer-message comprises information representative of one or more of: a quantum of energy; a generating capacity of the energy resource; a time window; a price.