Transforming renewable energy supply chains with blockchain technology for a sustainable future: trends, applications and challenges
摘要
There is a paradigm shift in the global energy sector from traditional energy to renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydropower. This transition requires digitalization across all aspects of the supply chain for seamless integration of distributed renewable energy sources. In recent years, the intricate renewable supply chain has experienced volatility and disruptions, while the growth of decentralised generation has added more complexity hindering adoption. Blockchain technology, with its features of transparency, immutability, decentralization and data encryption, offers solutions to address complexities in renewable energy supply chain. This article explores blockchain integration into renewable supply chain through a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. By analysing 72 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus from 2020 to 2024, the study shows an average annual growth rate of 77.83%. The bibliometric analysis identified motor themes, including blockchain power markets, electric power transmission networks, and niche themes using R software. The keyword co-occurrence map and conceptual map were created by VOS viewer. China is leading the academic research and development in renewable energy supply chain, and this trend is expected to continue over the next decade. Further, this paper summarises blockchain-based renewable energy supply research and applications, including energy trading, supply chain traceability and transparency. Current study shows that blockchain enhances the supply chain’s upstream, midstream, and downstream processes, while most of the research works are concentrated on downstream processes like energy trading and REC. Despite its potential benefits, challenges like high investment costs, regulatory barriers and social resistance hinder its adoption. This study provides valuable insights for academicians, researchers, and industry stakeholders to improve renewable energy supply chains by leveraging blockchain technology.