Renewable energy configurator

摘要

Embodiments for determining an optimal configuration for a renewable energy power plant are provided. The power plant, which may be a virtual power plant, includes one or more generator devices and one or more energy storage devices that may be operated to undertake one or more operating applications. Data indicative of the power output of the power plant and the voltage level at the energy storage system connection point is received as an input. Using this data, combinations of energy storage devices and operating applications stored on a database are processed and, for each energy storage and operating application pair, a value indicative of the profitability of undertaking the operating application is determined. These values are used to rank the combinations of energy storage devices and operating applications according to their profitability, which in turn is used to select the most efficient or profitable application/energy storage pair.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for determining a configuration for a renewable energy power plant having a power output rating and operatively connected with an electrical grid, the power plant comprising one or more generator devices and one or more energy storage devices operating according to a selected one of a plurality of operating applications, the method comprising:
receiving, in a computer as an input, data indicative of the power output rating of the power plant; receiving, in the computer as an input, data indicative of a location of the electrical grid; determining, based on the received data, a plurality of distinct pairings, each pairing including one of the one or more energy storage devices and one of the plurality of operating applications, the plurality of distinct pairings collectively reflecting a plurality of possible combinations of the one or more energy storage devices with the plurality of operating applications; upon determining that at least a first of the one or more energy storage devices has requirements that are incompatible with operating requirements for the electrical grid at the location, removing, using the computer, the first energy storage device from being included in the plurality of distinct pairings; determining, using the computer, for each pairing of the plurality of distinct pairings, a respective profitability value indicating a profitability of operating the power plant according to the selected operating application and using the selected energy storage device; and ranking the pairings according to the respective profitability values.