Maximum power point tracking hybrid control of an energy storage system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10978876-B2
Application number	US-201816614033-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 25, 2018
Priority date	May 30, 2017
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

Controlling an energy storage system includes accessing monitored sensor data and component data, if the DC bus voltage is less than the renewable energy power module (REPM) output voltage then selecting battery modules in combination with a power-network inverter to source power to the bus, else if greater than the REPM voltage then selecting battery modules in combination with the inverter to sink power from the bus, instructing respective control processors of the selected battery modules and a control processor of the inverter to either source/sink power respectively to/from the DC bus, accessing updated DC bus voltage and updated REPM output voltage, and if the DC bus voltage and the REPM output voltage are about equal, then periodically accessing sensor data and component data, else reselecting and reinstructing the battery modules in combination with the inverter. A system for implementing the method and a non-transitory computer-readable medium are also disclosed.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of controlling an energy storage system comprising:
accessing sensor data from sensors monitoring the energy storage system and accessing component data for one or more components of the energy storage system, the sensor data including monitored voltage of a DC bus and monitored output voltage of a renewable energy power module (REPM);
if the DC bus voltage is less than the REPM output voltage then selecting one or more battery modules of the energy storage system in combination with a power-network inverter in electrical communication with the DC bus to source power to the DC bus;
else if the DC bus voltage is greater than the REPM output voltage then selecting one or more battery modules of the energy storage system in combination with the power-network inverter to sink power from the DC bus;
instructing a respective control processor in communication with each of the one or more selected battery modules and a control processor in communication with the power-network inverter to either source or sink power respectively to or from the DC bus;
accessing updated DC bus voltage and updated REPM output voltage; and
if the DC bus voltage and the REPM output voltage are about equal, then periodically accessing the sensor data and the component data, else reselecting and reinstructing one or more of the battery modules in combination with the power-network inverter to either source or sink power respectively to or from the DC bus.

2. The method of claim 1 , the selecting one or more of the battery modules including:
obtaining a prediction of system performance by applying the accessed sensor data and the accessed component data to a model of the energy storage system;
determining the selection of the one or more battery modules based on the system performance prediction; and
identifying the selected one or more battery modules to a first control processor in communication with each of the respective control processors.

3. The method of claim 2 , the model including one or more of component function characteristics, system operational functions, and a power/voltage output curve for the renewable energy power module.

4. The method of claim 1 , the component data including one or more of a battery charge/discharge rate, a battery age, and a battery capacity.

5. The method of claim 1 , the sensor data including one or more of a battery module output voltage and/or current, a battery condition, a battery charge level, a battery fault indication, and a power network grid status condition.

6. The method of claim 1 , the accessing sensor data including receiving data from the sensors.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform a method of controlling an energy storage system, the method comprising:
accessing sensor data from sensors monitoring the energy storage system and accessing component data for one or more components of the energy storage system, the sensor data including monitored voltage of a DC bus and monitored output voltage of a renewable energy power module (REPM);
if the DC bus voltage is less than the REPM output voltage then selecting one or more battery modules of the energy storage system in combination with a power-network inverter in electrical communication with the DC bus to source power to the DC bus;
else if the DC bus voltage is greater than the REPM output voltage then selecting one or more battery modules of the energy storage system in combination with the power-network inverter to sink power from the DC bus;
instructing a respective control processor in communication with each of the one or more selected battery modules and a control processor in communication with the power-network inverter to either source or sink power respectively to or from the DC bus;
accessing updated DC bus voltage and updated REPM output voltage; and
if the DC bus voltage and the REPM output voltage are about equal, then periodically accessing the sensor data and the component data, else reselecting and reinstructing one or more of the battery modules in combination with the power-network inverter to either source or sink power respectively to or from the DC bus.

8. The medium of claim 7 , including instructions to cause the processor to perform the step of selecting one or more of the battery modules by including:
obtaining a prediction of system performance by applying the accessed sensor data and the accessed component data to a model of the energy storage system;
determining the selection of the one or more battery modules based on the system performance prediction; and
identifying the selected one or more battery modules to a first control processor in communication with each of the respective control processors.

9. The medium of claim 8 , including instructions to cause the processor to perform the step of obtaining a prediction by including in the model one or more of component function characteristics, system operational functions, and a power/voltage output curve for the renewable energy power module.

10. The medium of claim 7 , including instructions to cause the processor to perform the step of accessing the component data by including accessing one or more of a battery charge/discharge rate, a battery age, and a battery capacity.

11. The medium of claim 7 , including instructions to cause the processor to perform the step of accessing the sensor data by including accessing one or more of a battery module output voltage and/or current, a battery condition, a battery charge level, a battery fault indication, and a power network grid status condition.

12. The medium of claim 7 , including instructions to cause the processor to perform the step of accessing the sensor data by including receiving data from the sensors.

13. An energy storage system comprising:
a renewable energy power module (REPM) in electrical communication with a DC bus, the renewable energy power module configured to provide power to the DC bus;
a plurality of battery modules in electrical communication with the DC bus, each of the battery modules including a power converter, a battery, and a respective control processor;
a plurality of power network-side components including an inverter in electrical communication between the DC bus and a power network grid, and a local power-network control processor;
one or more sensors distributed in the energy storage system, respective sensors monitoring operational status of the plurality of battery modules, the renewable energy power module, the DC bus, and the power network;
each of the one or more sensors in communication with one of the respective control processors and the local power-network control processor;
a first control processor in communication with the respective control processors in the battery modules and the local power-network control processor, the first control processor in communication with a data store;
the data store including executable instructions that cause the control processor to perform a method, the method including:
accessing sensor data from sensors monitoring the energy storage system and accessing component data for one or more components of the energy storage system, the sensor data including monitored voltage of the DC bus and monitored output voltage of the REPM;
if the DC bus voltage is less than the REPM output voltage then selecting one or more battery modules from the plurality of battery modules in combination with the power-network inverter to source power to the DC bus;
else if the DC bus voltage is greater than the REPM output voltage then selecting one

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Webb Joshua
• Rush Kenneth
• Tonini Luca

Classifications

• H02J2101/28

  Wind energy · CPC title

• H02J2101/25

  involving maximum power point tracking control for photovoltaic sources · CPC title

• H02J2101/24

  Photovoltaics · CPC title

• H02J2101/20

  Dispersed power generation using renewable energy sources · CPC title

• H02J7/585

  Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries · CPC title