Distributed ledger for transacting with grid constraints to ensure grid stability

1 . A method for facilitating grid stability of a grid by using a distributed ledger, the method comprising:

determining metrics from each of a plurality of distributed energy resources (DERs), wherein said metrics are related to grid stability;

storing said metrics in the distributed ledger; and

for each respective DER of the plurality of DERS,

automatically triggering a smart contract by transferring said metrics for the respective DER from the distributed ledger into the smart contract, wherein tokens for deviations are incorporated directly into the smart contract,

executing the smart contract to compute any deviations between said metrics and predetermined values in a schedule for the respective DER, transfer and store results from the computation in the distributed ledger, and transfer positive or negative tokens to the respective DER according to a magnitude of the deviation, wherein the tokens are signals which quantitatively indicate how consumption or production should be enhanced, maintained, or reduced, and

by the respective DER, adapting or adjusting consumption or production of the respective DER based on the transferred positive or negative tokens, to thereby regulate the amount of contribution/consumption to/from the grid to facilitate grid stability.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining of metrics is performed by each respective DER itself or one or a plurality of sensors associated with each respective DER.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining is executed according to:

i) a predetermined schedule;

ii) periodically; and/or

iii) a value of the determined metric with regard to one or more thresholds.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining triggers the storing of said metrics in the distributed ledger.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identical copies of the distributed ledger are provided on a plurality of hosts on a peer-to-peer network.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the distributed ledger is a blockchain.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of DERs has a capacity of less than 100 megawatts, preferably less than 50 megawatt and more preferably less than 10 megawatt and even less than 1 megawatt.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of DERs comprises multiple generation/contribution and/or storage/consumption components and preferably uses at least one renewable energy source from the group consisting of small hydro, biomass, biogas, solar power, wind power, and geothermal power.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each DER contributes to a grid of a present utility.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein new DERs are added to the plurality of DERs by storing a new smart contract in the distributed ledger.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining metrics of the entire grid, wherein said metrics are related to grid stability.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein one metric is the voltage of the grid and/or one metric is the frequency of the grid.

13 . A system for facilitating grid stability by using a distributed ledger, the system comprising at least one processor configured to perform the method of claim 1 .

14 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method of claim 1 .

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein increasing frequency is an indication for decreasing consumption and decreasing frequency is an indication of increasing consumption.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a number of the plurality of DERs is at least one thousand.