Researchers at China’s Northeastern University have proposed an algorithm to construct an energy grid that distributes power similar to data flow on the internet. The proposed ‘energy internet’ would use a main power grid combined with decentralised generators, including fuel, wind turbines and solar power, to distribute energy to multiple microgrids within each designated network.
Enter the energy internet. It’s based on the idea that electricity could be distributed similarly to the actual internet. The energy internet isn’t yet reality, but scientists at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China, have proposed a way to actualize the theory.

“[The energy internet] brings new challenges to the study of some basic problems in power systems, one of which is… energy management,” wrote Huaguang Zhang, the director of the Electrical Automation Institute at Northeastern University.
Zhang and his team published their proposal in IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (JAS). “Unlike conventional power systems, the upcoming energy internet emphasizes comprehensive utilization of energy in the whole power system by coordinating multi-microgrids.”

A main power grid could partner with decentralized generators, including fuel, wind turbines and solar power, to delegate energy to multiple microgrids within each designated network.

The algorithms are consensus based, meaning the decentralized generators within the system agree that one of them will represent their ideal state. This leader communicates with the main grid and collects the power costs of each generator to set the price of electricity within the network.