Determining the Peer-to-Peer electricity trading price and strategy for energy prosumers and consumers within a microgrid

A successful Peer-to-Peer (P2P) electricity trading within a microgrid requires a P2P electricity trading price and strategy that enable both energy prosumers and consumers to obtain profits. Therefore, this study aims to propose a P2P electricity trading strategy based on the minimum and maximum electricity trading prices for energy prosumers and consumers that ensure their profitability, by considering the actual electricity market structure in South Korea. Towards this end, the minimum and maximum electricity trading prices for energy prosumers and consumers were calculated based on the market participation conditions and electricity trading scenarios established in this study. By matching energy prosumers and consumers based on the calculated minimum and maximum electricity trading prices, a P2P electricity trading strategy was ultimately proposed. As a result, the minimum (i.e., US$0.05–0.34/kWh) and maximum (i.e., US$0.09–0.32/kWh) electricity trading prices increased as the monthly electricity consumption of energy prosumers and consumers increased and the self-consumption and electricity purchase rates decreased. Consequently, the profitable electricity trading scenarios increased as the monthly electricity consumption was lower and the self-consumption rate was higher for energy prosumers, and as the monthly electricity consumption was higher and the electricity purchase rate was lower for energy consumers. In particular, the P2P electricity trading can provide maximum profits to energy prosumers and consumers when the monthly electricity consumption of energy prosumers is 200 kWh, the monthly electricity consumption of energy consumers is 500 kWh, and the electricity purchase rate is 20%. Based on the findings of this study, it is possible not only to determine profitable P2P electricity trading prices to market participants but also to establish an optimal P2P electricity trading strategy by matching energy prosumers and consumers that can ensure them with maximum profits.