Utility managed virtual power plant utilizing aggregated thermal energy storage
First Claim
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.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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.
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Citations
61 Claims
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1. A system for temporarily shifting the demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for temporarily shifting the demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A system for temporarily shifting the demand for electrical power supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:
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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 cooling; 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 said cooling 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. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
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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:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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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:
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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.
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50. A system for temporarily supplementing the demand for alternating current electrical energy supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising:
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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.
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51. A method of supplying the demand for cooling supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising the steps:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53)
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54. A method of supplying the demand for energy supplied to an end-user by an electrical utility comprising the steps:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56)
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Specification