System, method and computer program product for enhancing commercial value of electrical power produced from a renewable energy power production facility
First Claim
1. A method for converting electrical power produced from a renewable energy power production facility into premier power, comprising the steps of:
- producing from the renewable energy power production facility a time variable output power;
determining whether the time variable output power drops below a predetermined level; and
supplementing the time variable output power with power from at least one converter that includes at least one of a reactive power compensation mechanism and active power compensation mechanism.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system and computer program product enhance the commercial value of electrical power produced from a wind turbine production facility. Features include the use of a premier power conversion device that provides an alternative source of power for supplementing an output power of the wind turbine generation facility when lull periods for wind speed appear. The invention includes a communications infrastructure and coordination mechanism for establishing a relationship with another power production facility such that when excess electrical power is produced by the wind turbine facility, the excess may be provided to the power grid while the other energy production facility cuts back on its output production by a corresponding amount. A tracking mechanism keeps track of the amount of potential energy that was not expended at the other facility and places this amount in a virtual energy storage account, for the benefit of the wind turbine facility. When, the wind turbine power production facility experiences a shortfall in its power production output it may make a request to the other source of electric power, and request that an increase its power output on behalf of the wind turbine facility. This substitution of one power production facility for another is referred to herein as a virtual energy storage mechanism. Furthermore, another feature of the present invention is the use of a renewal power exchange mechanism that creates a market for trading renewable units of power, which have been converted into “premier power” and/or “guaranteed” by secondary sources of power source to provide a reliable source of power to the power grid as required by contract.
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Citations
184 Claims
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1. A method for converting electrical power produced from a renewable energy power production facility into premier power, comprising the steps of:
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producing from the renewable energy power production facility a time variable output power;
determining whether the time variable output power drops below a predetermined level; and
supplementing the time variable output power with power from at least one converter that includes at least one of a reactive power compensation mechanism and active power compensation mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A control processor for facilitating application of AC power from a renewable energy power production facility to a power grid, comprising:
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an I/O device configured to receive data from the renewable energy power production facility regarding an amount of power to be delivered by said renewable energy power production facility to said power grid, said I/O device including a communication port configured to transfer to a remote facility an indication regarding said amount of power;
a memory configured to hold computer readable instructions therein;
a processor configured to execute said computer readable instructions so as to implement, a power monitoring mechanism configured to monitor said amount of power, a message forming mechanism configured to include said indication in a coordination message that is sent through said I/O device to said remote facility regarding the amount of AC power applied by said renewable energy power production facility to said power grid. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101)
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46. A computer program product containing computer readable instructions that when executed on a processor facilitate application of AC power from a renewable energy power production facility to a power grid, comprising:
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a power monitoring mechanism configured to monitor an amount of premier power produced by the renewable power production facility, a message forming mechanism configured to include an indication in a coordination message sent to a remote facility regarding an amount of AC power applied by said renewable energy power production facility to said power grid; and
a message communications mechanism configured to send said coordination mechanism to said remote facility.
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68. A system for facilitating application of AC power from a renewable energy power production facility to a power grid, comprising:
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the renewable energy power production facility configured to produce an amount of electrical power at a time variable frequency that is not compatible with a power grid;
a converter connected between said renewable energy power production facility and the power grid and configured to convert said amount of electrical power from the renewable energy power production facility to premier power that is compatible with a frequency and operational requirement of the power grid such that an output from said converter may be applied directly to the power grid;
a control processor including, a communication port configured to transfer to a remote facility an indication regarding an amount of premier power produced by said converter, a memory configured to hold computer readable instructions, a processor configured to execute said computer readable instructions so as to implement, a power monitoring mechanism configured to monitor said amount of premier power, a message forming mechanism configured to include said indication in a coordination message that is sent through a communication link to said remote facility regarding the amount of premier power available to apply to said power grid.
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102. A computer-based facility for trading units of electrical power, at least a portion of each unit being from a renewable energy power production facility, comprising:
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a first I/O mechanism configured to receive a bid message including an amount of power to be delivered by said renewable energy power production facility to said power grid at a predetermined future time;
a second I/O mechanism configured to receive an offer message including an offer price for said amount of power;
a memory configured to hold computer readable instructions; and
a processor configured to execute said computer readable instructions so as to implement, an offer acceptance mechanism configured to determine if said offer price in said offer message meets or exceeds a predetermined price, and an acceptance notification mechanism configured to send a notification message to a sender of said bid message informing said sender of an acceptance by a purchaser. - View Dependent Claims (103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 143, 144, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183)
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116. A method for coordinating power output from a renewable power production facility with another power production facility so as to implement a virtual energy storage mechanism for the renewable power production facility, comprising steps of:
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producing a predetermined amount of electric power from the renewable power production facility;
determining that an amount of power produced by the renewable power production facility deviates from a threshold by a predetermined quantity;
informing another power production facility of said predetermined quantity; and
adjusting a power output at said other power production facilities by an amount that corresponds with said predetermined quantity.
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132. A method for enhancing a commercial value of a unit of electric power produced by a renewable power production facility, comprising steps of:
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identifying a predetermined amount of power predicted to be produced from the renewable power production facility at a predetermined future time;
converting the predetermined power from the renewable power production facility to a unit of premier power for application to a power grid at a standard frequency;
selling said unit of premier power for delivery at the predetermined future time;
delivering to the power grid the unit of power at the predetermined future time.
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142. A method for managing an investment portfolio of premier power units, comprising steps of:
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receiving contributions in various amounts from respective investors;
assigning shares to said investors based on respective contributions made by the respective investors;
purchasing a portfolio of premier power units with the contributions; and
receiving payment for delivery of respective of said premier power units, wherein said contributions being at least one of money and potential energy.
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145. A system for converting electrical power produced from a renewable energy power production facility into premier power, comprising:
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means for producing a time variable electrical output power from the renewable energy power production facility;
means for determining whether the time variable electrical output power is below a predetermined level; and
means for supplementing the output power with power from a converter mechanism having at least one of means for providing a source of reactive power, and means for providing active power.
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146. A system for coordinating power output from a renewable power production facility with another power production facility so as to implement a virtual energy storage mechanism for the renewable power production facility, comprising:
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means for producing a predetermined amount of electric power from the renewable power production facility;
means for determining that an amount of power produced by the renewable power production facility deviates from a threshold by a predetermined quantity;
means for informing another power production facility of said predetermined quantity; and
means for adjusting a power output at said other power production facility by an amount that corresponds with said predetermined quantity.
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147. A system for enhancing a commercial value of a unit of electric power produced by a renewable power production facility, comprising:
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means for identifying a predetermined amount of power expected to be produced from the renewable power production facility at a predetermined future time;
means for converting the predetermined power from the renewable power production facility to a unit of premier power for application to a power grid at a standard frequency;
means for selling said unit of premier power for delivery at a predetermined future time; and
means for delivering to the power grid the unit of power at the predetermined future time.
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148. A system for managing an investment portfolio of premier power units, comprising:
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means for receiving contributions in various amounts from respective investors;
means for assigning shares to said investors based on respective contributions made by the respective investors;
means for purchasing a portfolio of premier power units with the contributions; and
means for receiving payment for delivery of respective of said premier power units, wherein respective of said contributions having a monetary value.
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149. A system for prognosticating an electric power output from a renewable power production facility comprising:
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means for receiving at least one of meteorological and oceanographic data from a forecasting and data analysis system;
means for receiving other data from at least one sensor positioned locally relative to the renewable power production facility; and
means for predicting an electrical power output from the renewable power production facility from the at least one of meteorological and oceanographic data and the other data.
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162. A method for prognosticating an electric power output from a renewable power production facility comprising steps of:
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receiving at least one of meteorological and oceanographic data from a forecasting and data analysis system;
receiving other data from at least one sensor positioned locally to the renewable power production facility; and
predicting an electrical power output from the renewable power production facility from the at least one of meteorological and oceanographic data and the other data.
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173. A computer program product for prognosticating an electric power output from a renewable power production facility, comprising computer readable instructions that when executed on a processor perform steps of:
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receiving at least one of meteorological and oceanographic data from a forecasting and data analysis system;
receiving other data from at least one sensor positioned locally to the renewable power production facility; and
predicting an electrical power output from the renewable power production facility from the at least one of meteorological and oceanographic data and the other data.
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184. A computer-based method for managing an investment portfolio of renewable power production facilities, comprising steps of:
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receiving contributions in various amounts from respective investors;
assigning shares to said investors based on respective contributions made by the respective investors;
financing a purchase of a predetermined number of renewable power production facilities with said contributions;
receiving a plurality of payments for delivery of premier power units from said predetermined number of renewable power production facilities; and
apportioning said plurality of payments among said shares, wherein said contribution having a monetary value.
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Specification