Blockchain Technology in the Nordic Energy Market and in the Renewable Energy Sector
Oinas, Katja (2023-05-21)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023052145651
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023052145651
Tiivistelmä
The goal of this master’s thesis is to research the current state of blockchain technology, identify opportunities and challenges of blockchain technology in the Nordic energy market and in the renewable energy sector and recognize possible use cases. Climate change and decreasing natural resources are the main drivers to finding new solutions to utilize renewable energy and boost energy efficiency. There is growing energy demands that cannot be met by conventional energy systems. The energy systems are changing to be dynamic with numerous participants, and managing this complex system needs automation. Energy trading is transforming, and a suitable communication and trading system between market participants is needed.
The Nordic countries have ambitious progress goals towards carbon neutrality by 2050. The Nordic energy market is one of the most successfully functioning regional markets in Europe and has a high share of renewable energy consumption, which has remained well above the EU average. Blockchain technology is a distributed system and includes a consensus protocol. New transactions are added to the blockchain agreed by all nodes. The most interesting area of adoption of blockchain technology is the energy industry revolution, and several researchers in the academic world believe that this technology can bring changes in the energy sector. So far, there is a lack of research of this kind; hence this research will give a solid foundation for future research.
First, in this master’s thesis theory part is provided to give a comprehensive overview of the main concepts of the research. The central concepts of this master’s thesis are Blockchain technology, the Nordic energy market, and the renewable energy sector. The definition and fundamental principles of blockchain technology are clearly stated that the reader understands the basics of this emerging technology. Then Nordic energy market is introduced containing market participants, current challenges, the transformation of the energy system, comprehensive setting of trends and megatrends and drivers of change in the energy sector, and finally, the renewable energy sector is introduced. The theory part supports the empirical part and gives justification for the research results.
The research was conducted as qualitative survey research by organizing surveys for several energy sector stakeholders in every Nordic country. The survey objective is to find an answer to the main research question and sub research questions from the five different dimensions with the help of the TESEI framework. This master’s thesis concludes that blockchain technology is a potential solution for different challenges in the Nordic energy market and in the renewable energy sector. It could simplify many processes, help the Nordic electricity market be much more efficient, offer novel solutions, change business models in the long term, and inspire new ways of thinking about services related to the energy industry.
The Nordic countries have ambitious progress goals towards carbon neutrality by 2050. The Nordic energy market is one of the most successfully functioning regional markets in Europe and has a high share of renewable energy consumption, which has remained well above the EU average. Blockchain technology is a distributed system and includes a consensus protocol. New transactions are added to the blockchain agreed by all nodes. The most interesting area of adoption of blockchain technology is the energy industry revolution, and several researchers in the academic world believe that this technology can bring changes in the energy sector. So far, there is a lack of research of this kind; hence this research will give a solid foundation for future research.
First, in this master’s thesis theory part is provided to give a comprehensive overview of the main concepts of the research. The central concepts of this master’s thesis are Blockchain technology, the Nordic energy market, and the renewable energy sector. The definition and fundamental principles of blockchain technology are clearly stated that the reader understands the basics of this emerging technology. Then Nordic energy market is introduced containing market participants, current challenges, the transformation of the energy system, comprehensive setting of trends and megatrends and drivers of change in the energy sector, and finally, the renewable energy sector is introduced. The theory part supports the empirical part and gives justification for the research results.
The research was conducted as qualitative survey research by organizing surveys for several energy sector stakeholders in every Nordic country. The survey objective is to find an answer to the main research question and sub research questions from the five different dimensions with the help of the TESEI framework. This master’s thesis concludes that blockchain technology is a potential solution for different challenges in the Nordic energy market and in the renewable energy sector. It could simplify many processes, help the Nordic electricity market be much more efficient, offer novel solutions, change business models in the long term, and inspire new ways of thinking about services related to the energy industry.