Multiscale design for system-wide peer-to-peer energy trading

Summary The integration of renewable generation and the electrification of heating and transportation are critical for the sustainable energy transition toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. These changes require the large-scale adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs). Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading has gained attention as a new approach for incentivizing the uptake and coordination of DERs, with advantages for computational scalability, prosumer autonomy, and market competitiveness. However, major unresolved challenges remain for scaling out P2P trading, including enforcing network constraints, managing uncertainty, and mediating transmission and distribution conflicts. Here, we propose a novel multiscale design framework for P2P trading, with inter-platform coordination mechanisms to align local transactions with system-level requirements, and analytical tools to enhance long-term planning and investment decisions by accounting for forecast real-time operation. By integrating P2P trading into planning and operation across spatial and temporal scales, the adoption of large-scale DERs is tenable and can create economic, environmental, and social co-benefits.