EDGChain-E: A Decentralized Git-Based Framework for Versioning Encrypted Energy Data

TL;DR

EDGChain-E is a decentralized, blockchain-based framework that manages version-controlled, encrypted energy data, ensuring secure collaboration, integrity, and provenance tracking across energy research and operational activities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel decentralized Git-based system integrated with blockchain and DAO for secure, traceable energy data management and governance.

Findings

Supports secure, collaborative energy data versioning

Ensures data integrity and traceability with Merkle trees

Maintains FAIR principles for encrypted data provenance

Abstract

This paper proposes a new decentralized framework, named EDGChain-E (Encrypted-Data-Git Chain for Energy), designed to manage version-controlled, encrypted energy data using blockchain and the InterPlanetary File System. The framework incorporates a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) to orchestrate collaborative data governance across the lifecycle of energy research and operations, such as smart grid monitoring, demand forecasting, and peer-to-peer energy trading. In EDGChain-E, initial commits capture the full encrypted datasets-such as smart meter readings or grid telemetry-while subsequent updates are tracked as encrypted Git patches, ensuring integrity, traceability, and privacy. This versioning mechanism supports secure collaboration across multiple stakeholders (e.g., utilities, researchers, regulators) without compromising sensitive or regulated information. We highlight the framework's capability to maintain FAIR-compliant (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) provenance of encrypted data. By embedding hash-based content identifiers in Merkle trees, the system enables transparent, auditable, and immutable tracking of data changes, thereby supporting reproducibility and trust in decentralized energy applications.