Digitalization of Global Cities and the Smart Grid

With today’s rapid urbanization, global cities are constantly expanding to accommodate population growth. It is estimated that global cities will add another 2.5 billion new residents by the year 2050. However, along with this rapid expansion also arises the need for cities to provide infrastructure support in order to provide their residents with a good quality of life that is both sustainable and environmentally friendly by reducing the carbon footprint. Digital technology can be harnessed to help cities manage their energy needs through the deployment of the smart grid. Blockchain provides a more secure management of energy data while satisfying the energy needs of a smart city of the future. Blockchain aggregators can be deployed at different layers of the smart grid to protect the data flowing on the network. With the increasing popularity of microgrids as components of the smart grid, ‘prosumers’ can use the blockchain to sell their own renewable energy back to the smart grid. The blockchain technology platform can be deployed to protect microgrid data resulting in a more secure power grid system, a necessity to keep today’s digital cities operating cost-effectively, efficiently, and securely.