DISTRIBUTED LEDGER FOR TRANSACTING WITH GRID CONSTRAINTS TO ENSURE GRID STABILITY

Abstract

A for ensuring grid stability by using a distributed ledger, the method comprising the steps: measuring metrics from a plurality of distributed energy resource, DER, wherein said metrics are related to grid stability; storing (a) said metrics/measurements in the distributed ledger; transferring said metrics from the distributed ledger into a smart contract (2); computing any deviations between said metrics and predetermined values stored in advance in the smart contract (2) by executing the smart contract; transferring and storing results from the computing step in the distributed ledger; and transferring said results from the distributed ledger to the respective DER of the plurality of DERs, wherein said DER receives positive or negative values which regulates the amount of contribution to the grid.

Claims

1. A method for ensuring grid stability by using a distributed ledger, the method comprising the steps: measuring metrics from a plurality of distributed energy resources (DERs), wherein said metrics are related to grid stability; storing (a) said metrics/measurements in the distributed ledger; transferring said metrics from the distributed ledger into a smart contract; computing any deviations between said metrics and predetermined values stored in advance in the smart contract by executing the smart contract; transferring and storing results from the computing step in the distributed ledger; and transferring said results from the distributed ledger to the respective DER of the plurality of DERs, wherein said DER receives positive or negative values/tokens which regulates the amount of contribution/consumption to/from the grid to ensure grid stability.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said measuring of metrics is performed by each DER itself or one or a plurality of additional sensor associated with each DER.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said measuring is executed according to a i) predetermined schedule; ii) periodically; and/or iii) dependent on the measured value with regard to certain thresholds.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said measuring triggers the subsequent storing step (a).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein identical copies of the distributed ledger are provided on a plurality of hosts on a peer-to-peer network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the distributed ledger is a blockchain.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the DER has a capacity of less than 100 megawatts, preferably less than 50 megawatt and more preferably less than 10 megawatt and even less than 1 megawatt.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the DER comprises multiple generation/contribution and/or storage/consumption components and preferably uses at least one renewable energy source from the group consisting of small hydro, biomass, biogas, solar power, wind power and geothermal power.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each DER contributes to a grid of a present utility.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein new DERs are added by storing new requirements and measurements within the distributed ledger and/or the smart contract or a new smart contract.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of measuring metrics of the entire grid, wherein said metrics are related to grid stability.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein one metric is the voltage of the grid and/or one metric is the frequency of the grid.

13. A system for ensuring grid stability by using a distributed ledger, the system comprising: means for measuring metrics from a plurality of distributed energy resources (DERs), wherein said metrics are related to grid stability; means for storing said metrics/measurements in the distributed ledger; means for transferring said metrics from the distributed ledger into a smart contract; a computing means for computing any deviations between said metrics and predetermined values stored in advance in the smart contract by executing the smart contract; means for transferring and storing results from the computing step in the distributed ledger; and means for transferring said results from the distributed ledger to the respective DER of the plurality of DERs, wherein said DER receives positive or negative values/tokens which regulates the amount of contribution/consumption to/from the grid to ensure grid stability.

14. (canceled)

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: measure metrics from a plurality of distributed energy resources (DERs), wherein said metrics are related to grid stability; store said metrics/measurements in the distributed ledger; transfer said metrics from the distributed ledger into a smart contract; compute any deviations between said metrics and predetermined values stored in advance in the smart contract by executing the smart contract; transfer and store results from the computing step in the distributed ledger; and transfer said results from the distributed ledger to the respective DER of the plurality of DERs, wherein said DER receives positive or negative values/tokens which regulates the amount of contribution/consumption to/from the grid to ensure grid stability.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein increasing frequency is an indication for decreasing consumption and decreasing frequency is an indication of increasing consumption.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The subject-matter will be explained in more detail with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment which is illustrated in the attached drawing:

[0031] FIG. 1 schematically shows individual steps of a first embodiment; and

[0032] FIG. 2 schematically shows steps between a DER and the blockchain.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0033] An exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 in which identical or similar reference signs designate identical or similar elements.

[0034] In order to ensure that the local voltages and/or the system frequency (as a global measure of stability) are within acceptable bounds, utilities typically rely on large generators, tap changers and/or static and dynamic reactive power control devices. The present disclosure provides a method and system how this task can be carried out automatically in the presence of a large number of small energy sources/resources. For instance, it is preferred that an embodiment is used with more than 1000 (small) energy sources. Embodiments, however, are not restricted to any number and any size of the energy source. In other words, embodiments can be implemented with any size and any number of energy sources. The advantages of the decentralized method show up more clearly for larger amount of energy sources, which are more difficult to handle centralized.

[0035] One preferred setup can be described as follows. Manufacturer of utility devices and/or their utility customers—and potentially additional parties—provide dedicated hardware to host and run nodes of a shared blockchain (distributed ledger). Multiple parties are involved in this step, as this enables the “distribution of trust” to many entities. In this exemplary setup, any attempts by a single party or a small number of colluding parties to manipulate the system will be thwarted, i.e., the distributed execution of the blockchain ensures correctness and consistency.

[0036] Conventional power stations, such as coal-fired, gas, and nuclear powered plants, as well as hydroelectric dams and large-scale solar power stations are centralized and often require electric energy to be transmitted over long distances.

[0037] By contrast, “distributed energy resource” (DER) systems are decentralized, modular, and more flexible technologies, that are located close to the load they serve, albeit having often capacities of only 10 megawatts (MW) or less. These systems can comprise multiple generation and storage components; in such an instance they are often referred to as hybrid power systems.

[0038] The parties mainly involved in the scenario of the present disclosure are preferably the owners of the following devices: consumer devices; producer devices; energy storage devices; active grid devices (e.g. tap changers, capacitor banks, FACTS devices (flexible alternating current transmission system), etc.), certified measurement devices (e.g. meters, gird sensors and instruments) without being limited to said exemplary list of devices.

[0039] The first three types of consumer, producer and energy storage devices are examples of “distributed energy resource” (DER). If a new DER is to be set up, a smart contract 2 between the utility 1 and the operator of the DER is created. In this contract 2, the terms with respect to grid stability are preferably captured precisely, e.g., volume of energy produced and consumed, timing, and preferably also penalties for deviations. This contract 1 is transferred and hosted on the blockchain 10 (see step 1 in FIG. 1). Hence, in a first step, basic smart contracts are added to the blockchain. Moreover, the DERs are preferably equipped with certified sensors and/or counters that reliably measure metrics that can be used for determining grid stability.

[0040] During operation, these sensors and/or counters of the DERs 3 periodically send their measurements 4 to the blockchain 10, where they are preferably stored immutably. In addition, it is further preferred that the utility 1 publishes the current conditions and grid constraints on the blockchain 10 (step 2 in FIG. 1). For instance, periodic condition measurements for each DER and grid conditions and/or constraints may be stored. Moreover, it is also possible to mitigate the growth of the blockchain data by introducing “milestones”, where older data is removed and potentially archived. Preferably only data starting with an agreed upon milestone is stored in the blockchain. Alternatively or additionally, certain data could be stored off-chain, i.e., the blockchain only stored hashes and/or pointers to the data items. In such a solution, however, it is necessary to ensure the availability of the off-chain data.

[0041] According to a preferred embodiment, at least one of following information is stored on the blockchain 10.

[0042] i) At System Start-Up:

[0043] Smart contracts 2 that preferably compute in a time-triggered manner, or when a set of new profiles is added to the blockchain 10, the next commands for the involved devices 3 (this can include a schedule for prosumers, tap positions, voltage and current bounds), and sends them to the involved devices 3.

[0044] Smart contracts 10 that verify if the devices 3 follow the schedules and commands and trigger penalty/rewarding evaluation accordingly, executed automatically when new measurements are added to the blockchain 10.

[0045] ii) Whenever New Devices Enter the System or when their Profiles Change:

[0046] Device 3 profiles preferably describes the capacity for reserves (e.g., 10% of capacity for reserves); estimated power (e.g., consumption and production) profile for time intervals (e.g., in the next two hours or next 10 minutes); flexibilities (e.g., a water boiler can start a bit earlier or later or heat up the water more quickly or slowly) and/or a certified measurement setup in order to verify that the device 3 produces valid measurements and to associate the certified meters with the right devices.

[0047] iii) Whenever New Measurements are Available:

[0048] The certified measurement devices store their measurements in the blockchain (see step 4 in FIG. 1).

[0049] Consequently, the scheduling part of grid stability can be improved and automated: The protocol-driven distributed ledger (blockchain 10) thus provides an automated mechanism to ensure grid stability in the face of numerous energy producers, storage, and consumers by a) specifying the current conditions for production and consumption automatically and b) incentivizing adherence to these conditions by incorporating automatic benefits or penalties depending on the magnitude of the deviation using smart contracts 3.

[0050] As indicated in step 6 of FIG. 1, tokens 6 can be transferred internally to the DER 3 as a result of the smart contract execution.

[0051] FIG. 2 shows the basic steps of a preferred method according to an embodiment.

[0052] In step a), measurements from DER, which are preferably obtained by additional measurement devices at the DER, are transferred and stored in the blockchain 10. According to a preferred embodiment, such a storing step is executed on the basis of a predetermined schedule and/or periodically. Preferably, said step causes that the conditions from the DER are transferred to the smart contract (see a) in FIG. 2). For instance, the smart contract is triggered by the new values and loads the corresponding DER's conditions/measurements from the blockchain (see step b) in FIG. 2).

[0053] Next, the smart contract is used for evaluation and/or computing any deviation(s) from the conditions stored in the initial smart contract (see step c) in FIG. 2). Additionally or alternatively, the method can also handle situations when grid conditions change. For instance, the production and/or consumption of individual DERs might be adapted accordingly. The periodically/dynamically changing plan when to produce/consume energy for a DER is called a “schedule”. Thus, in case grid conditions change, a new schedule can be generated.

[0054] Next, in step d), the result of said computing step is stored in the blockchain 10. Said results are subsequently transferred to the DER in step e). For instance the results can be retrieved by the DER 5) or pushed from the blockchain to the DER. This step e) may include the automatic execution of a transaction evaluation, e.g., bonus or penalty tokens which can be used for the evaluation of service quality.