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Blockchain Technology

new strategies and policies in a bid to attract new investments, including small and

medium-sized enterprise (SME) investors (Gómez-Bolaños et al., 2020).

Nevertheless, missing opportunities to attract new or foreign investors are prevail­

ing in the energy sector of developing countries due to the challenges stemming from

corruption, obscurity, technological uncertainty and political instability (Baloch

et al., 2020). Furthermore, the lack of transparency in the power industry associated

with demand and supply and the security of energy supply is a pressing matter for

many countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and many

nations in Africa (Debnath & Mourshed, 2018). The conventional trends and the

regulations between the government and stakeholders in the above-mentioned coun­

tries have failed to safeguard the interests of the investors. As such, considerable

economic hardship could be at stake.

An economical and stable electricity supply is often central to the economic

development of a nation. The advent of new disruptive technologies offers a criti­

cal environment; if employed properly, it can handle the major perils lingering

in the energy sector. New innovations not only change the system technically

but also change the strategies of economic development by safeguarding the

environment and protecting the expectations of the stakeholders (Debnath &

Mourshed, 2018).

Blockchain, as a disruptive technology, poses various opportunities and chal­

lenges to traditional business standards, including the energy industry (Oh et al.,

2017). Hence, this chapter strives to delineate the opportunities and challenges of

blockchain technology in the energy industry to date and analyses existing examples

and cases where blockchain is utilized in the energy sector. Then, it offers an over­

view of the potential opportunities as well as the challenges relevant to blockchain

in the energy sector. This chapter additionally sheds light on potential opportuni­

ties and challenges faced by the policy-enforcing authorities concerning the appli­

cation of blockchain technology in the energy industry. The research employs the

qualitative method of data collection and primarily focuses on an exploratory litera­

ture review. The analysis part is focused on broad literature sources, mainly peer-

reviewed publications.

Technological development in a specific industry requires both regulatory and

policy reforms. In line with that, this chapter examines the internationally function­

ing models of blockchain technology in the energy industry, such as innovations for

trade (using “smart contracts”) and investment and promoting peer-to-peer (P2P)

energy production. The analysis of the models has been helpful to recommend the

utilization of blockchain technology in the energy industry. This eventually paves

the way toward appropriate governance frameworks to ensure decentralized, trans­

parent and sustainable energy development. The study has two main objectives. A

key contribution of this chapter is that we delve into case study-themed analysis

of innovations being embraced in the energy sector: For instance, smart contracts

to facilitate smoother trades. We also investigate the promotion of P2P-based pro­

duction of energy. Lastly, we analyse existing policy and regulatory frameworks in

place that are supposed to help the energy industry absorb the incoming innovative

disruptions.