Renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure and method of grid infrastructure automation and operation

Abstract

A renewable energy resource management system manages a delivery of a power requirement from a multi-resource offshore renewable energy installation to an intelligent power distribution network. The installation includes multiple renewable energy resource components and is capable of variably and independently generating power from each to microgrids comprising the intelligent power distribution network so that the entire power requirement is satisfied from renewable energy resources. An electricity grid infrastructure is also disclosed in which power production is balanced with power consumption so that power storage requirements are minimized.

1 . A renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure, comprising:
 an on-shore demand component, comprising an intelligent power distribution network to which at least one power customer is coupled;   an offshore supply component, including a plurality of renewable resource energy-based power sources comprised of one or more renewable energy resource components coupled to a multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform, each of the one or more renewable energy resource components capable of independently and variably producing a power output so that each component operates to create a combined power output that is substantially matched with the amount of power to be consumed by the intelligent power distribution network, the one or more renewable energy resource components including at least three of an array of wind turbines, an array of photovoltaic modules, an array of wave turbines, and an array of high temperature solar thermal collectors;   a settlement component configured to arrange a transfer of the combined power output for a specific period of time from the offshore supply component to the on-shore demand component; and   a transmission component forming a link between the offshore supply component and the on-shore demand component over which the combined power output is transferred.   
     
     
         2 . The renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the transmission component includes a high-voltage direct current transmission system, in which a plurality of voltage source converters coupling power output circuits of each renewable energy resource component to a common direct current bus. 
     
     
         3 . The renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the settlement component is a distributed load management system. 
     
     
         4 . The renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure of  claim 3 , wherein the distributed load management system is embodied in a privately hosted, shared distributed computing infrastructure that enables secure communication, processing, and storage of data between the offshore supply component, the on-shore demand component, the settlement component, and the transmission component. 
     
     
         5 . The renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the settlement component includes a load control module that determines an aggregate amount of power for the specific period of time from data collected from continual assessment of power usage by the at least one power consumer. 
     
     
         6 . The renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the settlement component includes a power generation module that determines a maximum operational efficiency of each renewable energy resource component in response to a plurality of variables that at least include, for the specific period of time, a renewable energy resource commodity price model for each renewable resource energy-based power source, and a meteorological conditions model at a location of the multi-resource offshore renewable energy resource platform for each renewable resource energy-based power source. 
     
     
         7 . The renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure of  claim 6 , wherein the power generation module communicates with each wind turbine in the plurality of wind turbines, each photovoltaic module in the plurality of photovoltaic modules, each wave turbine in the plurality of wave turbines, and each high-temperature solar thermal collector in the plurality of high-temperature solar thermal collectors configured at the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform to independently and variably generate the combined power output. 
     
     
         8 . The renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform is a mobile configuration capable of temporary installation at a desired location. 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 generating a power output for a renewable energy-based electricity grid infrastructure from an offshore supply component for consumption by an on-shore demand component, the offshore supply component including a plurality of renewable resource energy-based power sources comprised of one or more renewable energy resource components coupled to a multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform, each of the one or more renewable energy resource components capable of independently and variably producing a power output so that each component operates to create a combined power output that is substantially matched with the amount of power to be consumed by the on-shore demand component, the one or more renewable energy resource components including at least three of an array of wind turbines, an array of photovoltaic modules, an array of wave turbines, and an array of high temperature solar thermal collectors;   arranging a settlement to transfer the combined power output for a specific period of time from the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform to the on-shore demand component; and   linking the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform and the on-shore demand component with a high-voltage direct current transmission system over which the combined power output is transferred.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the linking the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform and the on-shore demand component with a high-voltage direct current transmission system further comprises coupling power output circuits of each renewable energy resource component to a common direct current bus with a plurality of voltage source converters. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the arranging a settlement to transfer the combined power output for a specific period of time is performed by a settlement component within a distributed load management system. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the distributed load management system is embodied in a privately hosted, shared distributed computing infrastructure that enables secure communication, processing, and storage of data between the offshore supply component, the on-shore demand component, and the settlement component. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the settlement component includes a power generation module that determines a maximum operational efficiency of each renewable energy resource component in response to a plurality of variables that at least include, for the specific period of time, a renewable energy resource commodity price model for each renewable resource energy-based power source, and a meteorological conditions model at a location of the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform for each renewable resource energy-based power source. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the power generation module communicates with each wind turbine in the plurality of wind turbines, each photovoltaic module in the plurality of photovoltaic modules, each wave turbine in the plurality of wave turbines, and each high-temperature solar thermal collector in the plurality of high-temperature solar thermal collectors configured at the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform to independently and variably generate the combined power output. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the multi-resource offshore renewable energy platform is a mobile configuration capable of temporary installation at a desired location. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining an aggregate amount of power for the specific period of time from data collected from continual assessment of power usage by at least one power consumer. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the determining an aggregate amount of power for the specific period of time further comprises communicating with an intelligent power distribution network within which the at least one power customer is configured. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the determining an aggregate amount of power for the specific period of time further comprises communicating with an intelligent power distribution network having a plurality of microgrids coupled thereto, the at least one power customer coupled to at least one microgrid.