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We successfully deployed our smart contracts on both the Sepolia and Optimism Sepolia testnets
to fully test and evaluate the functionalities in diverse environments. After careful consideration, we
chose Sepolia for its close alignment with Ethereum’s mainnet environment, and Optimism Sepolia
to leverage the benefits of Layer-2 scaling with Optimistic Rollups. Using Remix IDE in
conjunction with MetaMask, we connected to each network for seamless deployment. During this
process, we encountered and resolved issues with gas estimation and JSON-RPC errors by fine-
tuning our contract code and adjusting gas limits. Once deployed, we verified the contracts on
Etherscan, making them publicly accessible for further testing and validation. The live contracts
address on Optimism Sepolia is: 0xb10CB74dad7f68C75Ffd656754A7C1568221cE48 and on
Sepolia is: 0x1F2A9F127485552599a181428a138BaAeB843b55
5.3 Integration with Existing Energy Market Systems
The project outlined in this thesis demonstrates a framework for integrating blockchain-based energy
trading platforms, specifically VPPAs, with existing energy market systems. This integration
leverages blockchain's transparency, decentralization, and automation capabilities to address key
challenges faced by traditional energy markets, including inefficiencies, lack of traceability, and
barriers to participation for smaller energy producers and buyers.
5.3.1 Integration Points with Traditional Energy Markets
Interoperability with Energy Grids and Market Operators: One of the core aspects of integrating
blockchain technology with existing energy markets is ensuring compatibility with the established
energy grid infrastructure and market operators. The energy produced and consumed under the
VPPAs must be reported and tracked in alignment with traditional grid operations. Our system
achieves this by leveraging EACs, such as GOs, which are recognized by traditional energy markets
for certifying the source of renewable energy. The EACs issued through our smart contracts are
verifiable and can be integrated with the records of national grid operators, enabling seamless
coordination between the blockchain-based system and the existing grid.
Regulatory Compliance and Reporting: To ensure compatibility with the regulatory requirements
of different jurisdictions, our system integrates the issuance and validation of EACs through the
iRegistry
smart contract, which acts as a bridge between the blockchain platform and national or
international renewable energy certification bodies. For instance, in Europe, GOs issued through this
system could be automatically recognized by national authorities, while in the U.S., RECs, can be
integrated with local market operators. This regulatory integration ensures that energy transactions
conducted on our platform meet compliance requirements, enabling broader adoption by companies
and organizations required to adhere to strict environmental standards.
Financial and Market Settlements: Traditional energy markets operate with financial settlement
mechanisms to account for the differences in energy supply and demand, often mediated by
centralized market operators. Our system complements this by automating the financial settlements
for energy contracts using smart contracts. The pricing and settlement terms defined in VPPAs are
enforced by the blockchain, and the integration of cryptocurrencies or tokenized assets can streamline
the financial flow between producers and buyers. These contracts can be further integrated with
existing financial clearinghouses and energy market exchanges to handle fiat currency settlements
when necessary.
Market Expansion through Decentralized Participation: Traditional energy markets are often
limited by centralized gatekeepers, which can restrict participation to large, established producers and
buyers. Our blockchain-based platform opens up the market to smaller participants, such as