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TECHNOLOGY/LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Behind-the-Meter Energy Storage (BMES) System Advanced Peak-Shaving and Load Shaping using Power Storage with Variable Power Generation Opportunity: Idaho National Lab... TECHNOLOGY/LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Behind-the-Meter Energy Storage (BMES) System Advanced Peak-Shaving and Load Shaping using Power Storage with Variable Power Generation Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize the BMES System. Background: Energy security and economy of scale are driving changes in electric power industries, especially critical facilities like hospitals, military bases, and service providers. Increased penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources (RESs) creates various control and operational challenges to the existing grid. Electric utility providers have been facing security and cost challenges for years. The increasing availability of behind-the-meter energy storage (BMES) systems, can serve as one of the potential solutions to address those grid issues and to optimize distributed photovoltaic (PV) generation. BMES has massive untapped potential that alone can cover a huge percentage of contemporary storage requirements, but commercially available control architectures to enable smart integration of BMES with the grid are lacking. Description: Researchers at INL have developed an advanced control algorithm for peak shaving and load shaping in electrical power system applications which maximize the value of BMES technology and onsite generation. This algorithm can adaptively adjust based on available storage capacity, real time generation, and load. The first stage of this solution proactively determines the cost-optimal BMES configuration for reducing peak demands and demand charges and the second stage adaptively compensates intermittent generations and short load spikes that may otherwise increases the demand charges. Simulation results demonstrate that the INL approach provides a simple and effective solution for peak shaving, demand charge reductions, and onsite photovoltaic variability smoothing. Applications: The INL control algorithms are expected to have immediate applicability in the design of nanogrid and microgrid applications with intermittent generation and BMES. The approach can be integrated to any utility system (e.g. nanogrid, microgrid, smart grid, distribution systems) either using a software integrated to the control system (big utility applications) or as a separate micro-controller (smaller applications). It can be applied to manage loads, generators, and storage resources of any type of electrical facilities including residential, industrial, and commercial. Advantages: This technology provides a simple, flexible, scalable, and interoperable system to maximize the utilization of consumer sited energy storage and generating resources. The invention provides technical (decreases the need of peaking power generation, helps grid congestion management) and economic benefits (cost savings to both consumers and electric utilities). It is adjustable and configurable based on market fluctuations (e.g. variable electricity prices), user preferences, and/or grid technical requirements (e.g. energy security, congestion management, compensating load/generation intermittencies). Increased use of certain weather and usage forecasts can be integrated into the system to further enhance the load shaping and solar PV production forecast estimates. This allows the load shaping and demand management/limit aspects to be projected day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month with increasing accuracy. The implementation of this method helps utilities, microgrids, and nanogrids by making better and more cost-effective decisions regarding utilization of the available storage and onsite generations for different grid services. The power ratings for the given system range from a few kilowatts up to a few megawatts and the voltage ratings can range from 120V end consumer distribution up to 66 kV sub-transmission system. Development: TRL 5. The system has been validated in a relevant environment. Continuous efforts are invested to further improve the development. Further research and development would likely include integration of additional features such as frequency regulation from BMES technology for managing islanded operation of the grid. IP Status: US Patent Application No. 15/891,704, “System, Method, and Apparatus for Peak Shaving and Load Shaping Using Power Storage with Variable Power Generation,” BEA Docket No. BA-946. INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Ryan Bills at td@inl.gov