Predictive analytics device for integrating energy storage with solar generation coupled to electrical loads

Abstract

A device is disclosed that uses short term solar energy forecasting to enhance the use of energy storage coupled to an electrical load. By predicting momentary fluctuations in solar energy output, the energy storage is controlled to avoid short term drops in energy production resulting in higher apparent electrical load and potentially higher demand charges. By enhancing the use of the energy storage, less storage is required to mitigate demand charges, thereby reducing capital costs.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The increasing adoption of renewable energy sources burdens electric grids with intermittent fluctuations in power generation. Wind generators may fluctuate significantly over a timescale of a few minutes to an hour and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation fluctuates on timescales of a few minutes or shorter. Not only must grid operators precisely balance supply with load, they must ensure voltage quality and stability, incurring additional costs by procuring ancillary services (Ela, Erik et al. “Effective ancillary services market designs on high wind power penetration systems.” In Power and Energy Society General Meeting, 2012 IEEE, pp. 1-8. IEEE, [2012]). These are impaired by rapidly fluctuating sources of power and must be compensated by costly and limited resources such as FACTS devices, energy storage, switchable capacitor networks, tap-changing transformers and rapid-response generation operating inefficiently at partial capacity, held for regu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]Fluctuations themselves may be mitigated by throttling energy production, discarding thro, or by storing excess energy in a battery for discharge later. Although revenue is lost by throttling production downward, this revenue loss may be lower than the lifetime cost of a larger energy storage system. Thus some component of production throttling may be desirable in a preferred embodiment. With optimal and more effective control of an energy storage device, less storage capacity may be required to smooth fluctuations, considerably reducing capital costs.

[0009]Conversely, some storage capacity may be preferred to compensate for forecasting errors. Thereby, some storage capacity creates benefits outweighing its capital costs by mitigating output energy fluctuations that would be present if the device relied solely on forecasting and throttling energy production together with other combinations of less expensive energy control devices.

Problems solved by technology

In some cases a grid operator may charge the power generator for ancillary services costs incurred by rapid fluctuations, and in other cases the grid operator may prohibit rapid fluctuations altogether.

Images