UTILITY MANAGED VIRTUAL POWER PLANT UTILIZING AGGREGATED THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

• US 20090093916A1
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Published: 04/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue Frontier Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Ice Energy Inc. (Ice Energy Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Parsonnet, Brian, Narayanamurthy, Ramachandran
• Granted Patent: US 8,234,876 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/286
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 5/0017 using cold storage bodies, e.g. ice
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/16 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/24 Storage receiver heat
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 16/00 Devices using a combination of a cooling mode associated with refrigerating machinery with a cooling mode not associated with refrigerating machinery
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/14 Thermal energy storage

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for providing power generation and distribution with on-site energy storage and power input controlled by a utility or a third party manager. The system allows a utility manager to decide and direct how energy is delivered to a customer on both sides of the power meter, while the customer directs and controls when and how much energy is needed. In the disclosed embodiments, the utility controls the supply (either transmitted or stored) and makes power decisions on a system that acts as a virtual power plant, while the end-user retains control of the on-site aggregated power consumption assets. The disclosed systems act to broker the needs of the utility and end-user by creating, managing and controlling the interface between these two entities.

Claims

1. A system for temporarily shifting the demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:

an energy storage unit located in proximity of said end-user that receives alternating current electrical energy from an electric utility, converts said alternating current electrical energy into another form of energy, and stores said converted energy in a first time period, said energy storage unit that supplies said converted energy to said end-user reducing said end-user demand for said alternating current electrical energy in a second time period;

a controller that controls the operation of said energy storage unit and controls supply of said stored energy to said end-user; and

,

a communications link between a utility manager and said controller that allows said utility manager to manage and control the operations of said controller thereby controlling storage and supply of said stored energy to said end-user.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

an environmental sensor that senses environmental variables and relays environmental data to said utility manager via said communications link.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

an environmental sensor that senses environmental variables and relays environmental data on climatic variables, or condition/consumption variables, or cost variables to said utility manager via said communications link.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said communications link relays performance data from said energy storage unit to said utility manager via said communications link.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said energy storage unit stores energy in the form of thermal energy, mechanical energy, chemical energy, or DC electrical energy.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said controller controls a plurality of said energy storage units.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said energy storage unit provides said supply of said stored energy to a plurality of said end-users.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said controller controls a plurality of end-user clusters.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said utility manager that controls said operations of said controller is a utility company, an energy service company, a demand response aggregator, third party energy manager, or a programmable logic circuit.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein said environmental data consists of at least one of the following real-time variables from the group consisting of:

time, temperature, relative humidity, dewpoint, UV index, air quality index, carbon emissions, climate zone, power consumption, energy demand, energy consumption, cooling degree days, utility load profiles, energy grid status, current electric power price, current oil price, current propane price, current natural gas price, day-ahead price, day-of price, electric utility revenue, electricity generation price, electricity transmission price, electricity distribution price and energy service company revenue.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein said environmental data consists of at least one of the following projected variables from the group consisting of:

projected temperature, projected relative humidity, projected dewpoint, projected UV index, projected air quality index, projected carbon emissions, projected power consumption, projected energy demand, projected energy consumption, projected cooling degree days, projected utility load profiles, projected energy grid status, projected electric power price, projected oil price, projected propane price, projected natural gas price, projected day-ahead price, projected day-of price electric rate forecast projected electricity generation price, projected electricity transmission price, projected electricity distribution price and projected electric utility revenue.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein said environmental data is derived at the location of said energy storage unit.

13. The system of claim 2, wherein said environmental data is derived at a location remote from said energy storage unit and transmitted to said controller.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein said environmental data is sensed using sensors from a plurality of energy storage units.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said operation of said energy storage unit and said control of said supply of said stored energy to said end-user is based upon a time dependent value of energy.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said shifting of demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user is based upon at least one of the following:

electricity generation price, electricity transmission price or electricity distribution price.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said shifting of demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user is in response to a price event, a reliability event, or a load balancing event.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein said communications link between said utility manager and said controller is performed with at least one of the following:

a wide area communications interface, an external physical network interface and a wireless network interface.

36. The system of claim 1, wherein said communications link between said utility manager and said controller is performed with at least one of the following:

a wide area communications interface, an external physical network interface and a wireless network interface.

19. A system for temporarily shifting the demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:

a central electrical power generation plant that generates said electrical power;

an electrical power transmission and distribution network that links said power generation plant to an end-user and supplies said electrical power to said end-user;

a utility manager that controls and manages said electrical power generation and distribution from said power generation plant to said end-user;

an electric meter that measures the amount of said electrical energy supplied to or produced by said end-user, said electric meter located between said electrical power transmission and distribution network and said end-user;

an energy storage unit located on the end-user side of said electric meter that stores energy and supplies energy to said end-user;

a controller that controls the operation of said energy storage unit and controls supply of said stored energy to said end-user; and

,

a communications link between said utility manager and said controller that allows said utility manager to manage and control the operations of said controller thereby controlling storage and supply of said stored energy to said end-user.

20. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

an environmental sensor that senses environmental variables and relays environmental data to said utility manager via said communications link.

21. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

an environmental sensor that senses environmental variables and relays environmental data on climatic variables, or condition/consumption variables, or cost variables to said utility manager via said communications link.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein said communications link relays performance data from said energy storage unit to said utility manager via said communications link.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein said energy storage unit stores energy in the form of thermal energy, mechanical energy, chemical energy, or DC electrical energy.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein said controller controls a plurality of said energy storage units.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein said energy storage unit provides said supply of said stored energy to a plurality of said end-users.

26. The system of claim 19, wherein said controller controls a plurality of end-user clusters.

27. The system of claim 19, wherein said utility manager that controls said operations of said controller is a utility company, an energy service company, a demand response aggregator or a third party energy manager.

28. The system of claim 20, wherein said environmental data consists of at least one of the following real-time variables from the group consisting of:

time, temperature, relative humidity, dewpoint, UV index, air quality index, carbon emissions, climate zone, power consumption, energy demand, energy consumption, cooling degree days, utility load profiles, energy grid status, current electric power price, current oil price, current propane price, current natural gas price, day-ahead price, day-of price, electric utility revenue, electricity generation price, electricity transmission price, electricity distribution price and energy service company revenue.

29. The system of claim 20, wherein said environmental data consists of at least one of the following projected variables from the group consisting of:

projected temperature, projected relative humidity, projected dewpoint, projected UV index, projected air quality index, projected carbon emissions, projected power consumption, projected energy demand, projected energy consumption, projected cooling degree days, projected utility load profiles, projected energy grid status, projected electric power price, projected oil price, projected propane price, projected natural gas price, projected day-ahead price, projected day-of price electric rate forecast projected electricity generation price, projected electricity transmission price, projected electricity distribution price and projected electric utility revenue.

30. The system of claim 20, wherein said environmental data is derived at the location of said energy storage unit.

31. The system of claim 20, wherein said environmental data is derived at a location remote from said energy storage unit and transmitted to said controller.

32. The system of claim 20, wherein said environmental data is sensed using sensors from a plurality of energy storage units.

33. The system of claim 19, wherein at least a portion of said operation of said energy storage unit and said control of said supply of said stored energy to said end-user is based upon a time dependent value of energy.

34. The system of claim 19, wherein at least a portion of said shifting of demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user is based upon at least one of the following:

electricity generation price, electricity transmission price or electricity distribution price.

35. The system of claim 19, wherein at least a portion of said shifting of demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user is in response to a price event, a reliability event, or a load balancing event.

37. A system for temporarily shifting the demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:

a central electrical power generation plant that generates said electrical power;

an electrical power transmission and distribution network that links said power generation plant to an end-user and supplies said electrical power to said end-user;

a utility manager that controls and manages said electrical power generation and distribution from said power generation plant to said end-user;

a thermal energy storage unit located in proximity to said end-user that converts electric energy to thermal energy, stores said thermal energy and supplies said thermal energy to said end-user thereby reducing said end-user'"'"'s demand for said electric energy to power heating or air conditioning;

a controller that controls operation of said thermal energy storage unit and controls said conversion of said electric energy to said thermal energy and supply of said heating or air conditioning to said end-user; and

,

a communications link between said utility manager and said controller that allows said utility manager to manage and control the operations of said controller thereby controlling storage and supply of said stored energy to said end-user.

38. A method of temporarily supplementing the demand for alternating current electrical energy supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising the steps:

storing a portion of said alternating current electrical energy provided to said end-user by said electric utility with an energy storage unit located in proximity of said end-user comprising the steps;

receiving alternating current electrical energy from an electric utility;

converting said alternating current electrical energy into another form of energy; and

,

storing said converted energy in one time period;

controlling the operations of said energy storage unit with a controller that regulates the amount of energy that is supplied to, and distributed from, said energy storage unit;

controlling the operations of said controller by said electrical utility with a communications link between said electrical utility and said controller; and

,

supplementing said end-user demand for said alternating current electrical energy in a second time period by supplying said stored energy from said electrical utility controlled energy storage unit to said end-user.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising the steps:

obtaining environmental data from at least one environmental sensor that senses at least one environmental variable;

transmitting said environmental data to said utility manager via said communications link; and

,

regulating the amount of energy that is supplied to, or distributed from, said energy storage unit based upon said environmental data.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising the steps:

obtaining environmental data from at least one environmental sensor that senses at least one environmental variable from the group consisting of climatic variables, condition/consumption variables, and cost variables;

transmitting said environmental data to said utility manager via said communications link; and

,

regulating the amount of said energy that is supplied to, or distributed from, said energy storage unit based upon said environmental data.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising the steps:

obtaining performance data from said energy storage unit;

transmitting said performance data to said utility manager via said communications link; and

,

regulating the amount of said energy that is supplied to, or distributed from, said energy storage unit based upon said performance data.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step:

controlling a plurality of said energy storage units with said controller.

43. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step:

supplementing a plurality of said end-users demand for said alternating current electrical energy in said second time period by supplying said stored energy from said electrical utility controlled energy storage unit to said plurality of said end-users.

44. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step:

controlling a plurality of end-user clusters with said controller.

45. The method of claim 38, further comprising the steps:

obtaining environmental data from at least one environmental sensor that senses at least one environmental variable;

transmitting said environmental data to said utility manager via said communications link; and

,

regulating the amount of energy that is supplied to, or distributed from, said energy storage unit based upon said environmental data that consists of at least one of the following real-time variables;

time, temperature, relative humidity, dewpoint, UV index, air quality index, carbon emissions, climate zone, power consumption, energy demand, energy consumption, cooling degree days, utility load profiles, and energy grid status, current electric power price, current oil price, current propane price, current natural gas price, day-ahead price, day-of price, electric utility revenue, electricity generation price, electricity transmission price, electricity distribution price and energy service company revenue.

46. The method of claim 38, further comprising the steps:

obtaining environmental data from at least one environmental sensor that senses at least one environmental variable;

transmitting said environmental data to said utility manager via said communications link; and

,

regulating the amount of energy that is supplied to, or distributed from, said energy storage unit based upon said environmental data that consists of at least one of the following projected variables;

projected temperature, projected relative humidity, projected dewpoint, projected UV index, projected air quality index, projected carbon emissions, projected power consumption, projected energy demand, projected energy consumption, projected cooling degree days, projected utility load profiles, projected energy grid status, projected electric power price, projected oil price, projected propane price, projected natural gas price, projected day-ahead price, projected day-of price electric rate forecast, projected electricity generation price, projected electricity transmission price, projected electricity distribution price and projected electric utility revenue.

47. The method of claim 39, further comprising the steps:

optimizing the operational parameters of said energy storage unit based upon at least one of the following;

electricity generation price, electricity transmission price electricity distribution price, time dependent value of energy, electricity generation price, electricity transmission price, electricity distribution price, a price event, a reliability event, and a load balancing event.

48. The method of claim 38, further comprising the steps:

performing said communications link between said utility manager and said controller with a wide area communications interface.

49. A method of temporarily supplementing the demand for alternating current electrical energy supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising the steps:

storing a portion of said alternating current electrical energy provided to said end-user by said electric utility with a thermal energy storage unit located in proximity of said end-user comprising the steps;

receiving alternating current electrical energy from an electric utility;

converting said alternating current electrical energy into thermal energy; and

,

storing said thermal energy in the form of ice in one time period;

controlling the operations of said thermal energy storage unit with a controller that regulates the amount of said alternating current electrical energy that is supplied to, and said thermal energy distributed from, said thermal energy storage unit;

controlling the operations of said controller by said electrical utility with a communications link between said electrical utility and said controller; and

,

supplementing said end-user demand for said alternating current electrical energy in a second time period by supplying said stored thermal energy from said thermal energy storage unit to said end-user.

50. A means for temporarily supplementing the demand for alternating current electrical energy supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:

a means for storing a portion of said alternating current electrical energy provided to said end-user by said electric utility with an energy storage unit located in proximity of said end-user comprising;

a means for receiving alternating current electrical energy from an electric utility;

a means for converting said alternating current electrical energy into another form of energy; and

,

a means for storing said converted energy in one time period;

a means for controlling the operations of said energy storage unit with a controller that regulates the amount of energy that is supplied to, and distributed from, said energy storage unit;

a means for controlling the operations of said controller by said electrical utility with a communications link between said electrical utility and said controller; and

,

a means for supplementing said end-user demand for said alternating current electrical energy in a second time period by supplying said stored energy from said electrical utility controlled energy storage unit to said end-user.

51. A method of supplying the demand for cooling supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising the steps:

receiving alternating current electrical energy from an electric utility;

converting said alternating current electrical energy into thermal energy; and

,

storing said thermal energy with a thermal energy storage unit located in proximity of said end-user;

controlling by said end-user, a time period and amount of said cooling delivered to an end-user site; and

,

controlling by a utility manager, a source of said cooling to said end-user, wherein said source is electric energy converted to thermal energy, said stored thermal energy from said thermal energy storage unit or a combination thereof.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising the steps:

controlling said source of said cooling supplied to a plurality of said end-users.

53. The method of claim 51, further comprising the steps:

controlling timing of said storing of said thermal energy with said thermal energy storage unit by said utility manager.

54. A method of supplying the demand for energy supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising the steps:

receiving alternating current electrical energy from an electric utility;

converting said alternating current electrical energy into another form of energy; and

,

storing said converted energy with an energy storage unit located in proximity of said end-user;

controlling by said end-user, a time period and amount of said energy delivered to an end-user site; and

,

controlling by a utility manager, a source of said energy to said end-user, wherein said source is electric energy, said stored energy from said energy storage unit or a combination thereof.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising the steps:

controlling said source of said energy supplied to a plurality of said end-users.

56. The method of claim 54, further comprising the steps:

controlling timing of said storing of said energy with said energy storage unit by said utility manager.