Patent ID: 9229501
Filing Date: 2016-01-05
CPC Classification: G06F,H02J,Y02E

Claim Text:
1. A method to provide power produced by sources located at sites distributed over a geographical area to a power distribution system, comprising: storing at a location of a utility, information concerning a configuration of each of a plurality of sites that provides electrical power from a renewable power source, wherein the configuration information comprises an amount of electrical power available from each site in the plurality of sites; storing power provision terms of agreements between the utility and each site in the plurality of the sites, wherein the power provision terms comprise an amount of electrical power to be delivered to the power distribution system by each site and a time of day at which the amount of electrical power is to be provided, wherein a computer at each site is further to receive proposed power provision terms from a computer at the utility to enable a user of the site to accept or reject the received proposed provision terms; responsive to the user at the site accepting the proposed provision terms, scheduling by the computer at the utility the time of day during which each site shall produce and provide an agreed amount of electrical power to the power distribution system according to the stored power provision terms; responsive to receiving the schedule from the computer at the utility at a computer at each site that is in communication with the computer at a utility through a computer communications network, controlling, by the computer at the site, an amount of power delivered from the site to the power distribution system by controlling an output AC voltage of a converter that produces an output AC voltage and an output AC current that is a function of the output AC voltage to deliver power to the power distribution system derived from electrical power produced by the renewable power source associated with the site and adjusted by a charge controller that receives the electrical power from the renewable power source and adjusts the output via a DC to DC converter, wherein the electrical power varies in voltage and current, wherein the output is a nominal DC voltage, wherein the output is lowered to the nominal DC voltage in response to the electrical power comprising a high voltage, and wherein the output is raised to the nominal DC voltage in response to the electrical power comprising a low voltage, wherein the electrical power delivered to the power distribution system increases as the output AC voltage increases and decreases as the output AC voltage decreases, and wherein the amount of power provided to the power distribution system during a specified time of day is determined according to the power provision terms of the agreement between the utility and the site; and reducing an amount of electrical power produced at the location of the utility in proportion to the amount of electrical power received from the plurality of sites.