WO2025046170A1

WO2025046170A1 - Computer-implemented method for managing a site of a virtual power plant

Info

Publication number: WO2025046170A1
Application number: PCT/FI2024/050443
Authority: WO
Inventors: Simon HOLMBACKA; Jukka-Pekka Salmenkaita
Original assignee: Elisa Oyj
Current assignee: Elisa Oyj
Priority date: 2023-09-01
Filing date: 2024-08-27
Publication date: 2025-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-01
Also published as: FI20235981A1

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a computer-implemented method for managing a site of a virtual power plant, wherein the site comprises a plurality of rectifiers for providing a required load power to a site load and at least one fuse layer between the plurality of rectifiers and the power grid, comprises: configuring a maximum operating power of each rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers based at least on a maximum rectifier power capacity of each rectifier and a total fuse power capacity of the at least one fuse layer; monitoring a status of the site; and in response to detecting an abnormal status of the site affecting at least one of: the maximum rectifier power capacity of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers and/or the total fuse power capacity, reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers.

Description

COMPUTER- IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR MANAGING A SITE OF A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001 ] The present disclosure relates to distributed energy storage systems , and more particularly to a computer-implemented method for managing a site of a virtual power plant , a computing device , a virtual power plant , and a computer program product .

BACKGROUND

[0002] A virtual power plant can comprise a large number of sites and each site can comprise various components that may malfunction is various ways . Such malfunctions can seriously affect the operation of the site and of the virtual power plant .

SUMMARY

[0003] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a s impli fied form that are further described below in the detailed description . This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subj ect matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subj ect matter .

[0004] It is an obj ective to provide a computer-implemented method for managing a site of a virtual power plant , a computing device , a virtual power plant , and a computer program product . The foregoing and other obj ectives are achieved by the features of the independent claims . Further implementation forms are apparent from the dependent claims , the description and the figures . [0005] According to a first aspect, a computer-implemented method for managing a site of a virtual power plant , wherein the site comprises a site load, a plurality of rectifiers for providing a required load power to the site load from a power grid, and at least one fuse layer between the plurality of recti fiers and the power grid, the method comprising : configuring a maximum operating power of each rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers to provide the required load power to the site load based at least on a maximum rectifier power capacity of each rectifier and a total fuse power capacity of the at least one fuse layer ; monitoring a status of the site ; and in response to detecting an abnormal status of the site affecting at least one of : the maximum rectifier power capacity of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers and/or the total fuse power capacity, reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one recti fier in the plurality of rectifiers to provide the required load power to the site load . The method can, for example , minimi ze the effect of the abnormal status of the site .

[0006] In an implementation form of the first aspect , the method further comprises , in response to not being able to meet the required load power by reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers , disabling at least a part of the site load . The method can, for example , minimi ze the effect of the abnormal status of the s ite by gracefully degrading the functionality of the site even when the required load power cannot be met .

[0007] In another implementation form of the first aspect , in response to the abnormal status of the s ite comprising a malfunction of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers , the reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers comprises increasing the maximum operating power of at least one remaining rectif ier in the plurality of rectifiers based at least on the total fuse power capacity to meet the required load power . The method can, for example , efficiently minimi ze the effect of the abnormal status of the site in the case of a malfunction of at least one rectifier .

[0008] In another implementation form of the first aspect , the method further comprises , in response to the abnormal status of the site compri sing a lowering of the total fuse power capacity : lowering the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers based at least on the lowered total fuse power capacity; or maintaining the maximum operating power of the plurality of rectifiers and, in response to tripping at least one fuse in the at least one fuse layer, reactivating the at least one tripped fuse after a preconfigured time interval . The method can , for example , efficiently minimi ze the effect of the abnormal status of the site in the case of a lowering of the total fuse power capacity .

[0009] In another implementation form of the first aspect , the site further comprises at least one battery unit and the method further comprises , in response to the tripping at least one fuse in the at least one fuse layer , powering the site load at least partially using battery power from the at least one battery unit during the preconfigured time interval . The method can, for example , efficiently minimi ze the effect of the abnormal status of the site in the case of tripping at least one fuse in the at least one fuse layer .

[0010] In another implementation form of the first aspect , the method further comprises , in response to detecting the abnormal status of the site , providing an alarm . The method can, for example , automatically provide the alarm in order to , for example , dispatch a maintenance crew to the site .

[001 1 ] In another implementation form of the first aspect , the site further comprises at least one battery unit and the method further comprises , in response to the abnormal status of the site compris ing tripping at least one fuse of the at least one fuse layer during charging of the at least one battery unit , stopping the charging of the at least one battery unit and reactivating the at least one tripped fuse . The method can , for example , efficiently minimi ze the effect of the abnormal status of the site in the case of tripping at least one fuse of the at least one fuse layer during charging of the at least one battery unit .

[001 2] In another implementation form of the first aspect , the method further comprises reactivating the charging of the at least one battery unit after reactivating the at least one tripped fuse . The method can, for example , efficiently minimi ze the effect of the abnormal status of the site in the case of tripping at least one fuse of the at least one fuse layer during charging of the at least one battery unit .

[001 3] According to a second aspect , a computing device compri ses at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code , the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to , with the at least one proces sor, cause the computing device to perform the method according to the first aspect .

[0014] According to a third aspect , a virtual power plant comprises the computing device according the second aspect and a plurality of sites of the virtual power plant .

[001 5] In an implementation form of the third aspect , each site in the plurality of sites comprises a site controller and the computing device is configured to perform the reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one recti fier in the plurality of rectif iers of a site with an abnormal status in the plurality of sites by transmitting at least one configuration parameter to the site controller of the site with the abnormal status .

[0016] According to a fourth aspect , a computer program product comprises program code configured to perform the method according to the first aspect when the computer program product is executed on a computer .

[001 7] Many of the attendant features wil l be more readily appreciated as they become better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings .

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In the following, example embodiments are described in more detail with reference to the attached figures and drawings , in which :

[0019] Fig . 1 illustrates a flow chart representation of a method according to an embodiment ;

[0020] Fig . 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a site of a virtual power plant according to an embodiment ;

[0021 ] Fig . 3 illustrates a schematic representation of a site of a virtual power plant according to another embodiment ;

[0022] Fig . 4 illustrates a flow chart representation of an implementation of the method according to an embodiment ;

[0023] Fig . 5 illustrates a schematic representation of a computing device according to an embodiment ; [0024] Fig . 6 illustrates a schematic representation of a virtual power plant according to an embodiment ; and [0025] Fig . 7 illustrates a schematic representation of communication between a computing device and a s ite controller according to an embodiment .

[0026] In the following, like reference numerals are used to des ignate li ke parts in the accompanying drawings .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings , which form part of the disclosure , and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific aspects in which the present disclosure may be placed . It is understood that other aspects may be utilised, and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure . The following detailed description, therefore , is not to be taken in a limiting sense , as the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims .

[0028] For instance , it is understood that a disclosure in connection with a described method may also hold true for a corresponding device or system configured to perform the method and vice versa . For example , if a specific method step is described, a corresponding device may include a unit to perform the described method step, even if such unit is not explicitly described or il lustrated in the f igures . On the other hand, for example , if a specific apparatus is described based on functional units , a corresponding method may include a step performing the described functionality, even if such step is not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures . Further, it is understood that the features of the various example aspects described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise .

[0029] Fig . 1 illustrates a flow chart representation of a method according to an embodiment .

[0030] According to an embodiment , a computer-implemented method 100 for managing a site of a virtual power plant , wherein the site comprises a site load, a plurality of rectifiers for providing a required load power to the site load from a power grid, and at least one fuse layer between the plurality of recti fiers and the power grid, comprises configuring 101 a maximum operating power of each recti fier in the plural ity of recti fiers to provide the required load power to the site load based at least on a maximum rectifier power capacity of each rectifier and a total fuse power capacity of the at least one fuse layer .

[0031 ] Herein, a site may also be referred to as a physical asset , a node , a unit , a distributed energy resource , an asset , a battery site , or similar .

[0032] Herein, a virtual power plant (VPP) may refer to a distributed power plant compris ing a plural ity of sites . A VPP can aggregate the capacities of the plurality of sites .

[0033] The required load power may refer to an amount of power required by the site load to keep the site load operational . For example , if the site compri ses a base station of a mobile network the required load power may comprise the amount of power required to operate the telecommunications equipment of the base station . The required load power may vary as a function of time .

[0034] The maximum operating power of each rectifier may refer to a power limit appl ied for each recti fier by the method 100 .

[0035] The maximum rectifier power capacity of each rectifier may refer to a maximum power each rectifier is designed to operate at . For example , the maximum rectifier power capacity may be assigned by the manufacturer of the recti fier and the maximum recti fier power capacity of each rectifier should not be exceeded . The maximum rectifier power capacity may be a feature of each rectifier . Typically, the maximum operating power of each rectifier may be set to be less than or equal to the maximum rectifier power capacity .

[0036] The total fuse power capacity of the at least one fuse layer may refer to a maximum amount of power that the at least one fuse layer can provide for a sustained time without a fuse in the at least one fuse layer tripping . For example , the fuse power capacity of a fuse layer may correspond to the sum of the fuse power capacities of the fuses in the fuse layer . [0037] I f the at least one fuse layer comprises a plurality of fuse layers , the total fuse power capacity of the plurality of fuse layers may correspond to a minimum fuse power capacity out of the fuse power capacities of the fuse layers . For example , if the plurality of fuse layers comprises a first fuse layer with a fuse power capacity of I kW and a second fuse layer with a fuse power capacity of 2 kW, the total fuse power capacity of the plurality of fuse layers may be I kW .

[0038] In some embodiments , a fuse power capacity may be expressed in terms of fuse amperage , i . e . a maximum current that can flow through a fuse before the fuse is tripped .

[0039] The at least one fuse layer may be electrically coupled between the plurality of rectifiers and the power grid . Thus , the plurality of rectifiers may be electrically coupled to the power grid via the at least one fuse layer . Therefore , the at least one fuse layer can limit the amount of power the plurality of rectifiers can draw from the power grid .

[0040] The method 100 may further comprise , monitoring 102 a status of the site .

[0041 ] The monitoring 102 the status of the s ite may comprise , for example, monitoring whether all equipment of the site , such as the plurality of rectifiers and/or the at least one fuse layer , is functioning correctly . For example , the site may periodically transmit a status report and an abnormal status can be detected based on the report , or the site may monitor the status of the equipment and transmit an alarm in response to an abnormal status , such as a malfunction .

[0042] The method 100 may further comprise , in response to detecting an abnormal status of the s ite af fecting at least one of : the maximum rectifier power capacity of at least one rectifier in the plural ity of rectifiers and/or the total fuse power capacity, reconfiguring 103 the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers to provide the required load power to the site load .

[0043] The abnormal status may comprise , for example one or more rectifiers malfunctioning, thus affecting the maximum rectifier power capacity of the malfunctioning rectifiers and/or a fuse tripping in the at least one fuse layer thus affecting the total fuse power capacity . Alternatively or additionally, the abnormal status may comprise various other situations , such as those disclosed in the embodiments herein .

[0044] Fig . 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a site of a virtual power plant according to an embodiment .

[0045] In the embodiment of Fig . 2 , the site 200 comprises a plurality of rectifiers 201 , a site controller 202 , and a fuse panel 203 . Power from the power grid 204 can be provided to the site load via the fuse panel 203 and the rectifiers 201 . The site controller 202 can control the operation of the site 200 .

[0046] For example , the site 200 may comprise a direct current ( DC) system and the plurality of rectifiers 201 can be configured to convert the alternating current (AC) from the power grid to DC compatible with the site 200. For example, the plurality of rectifiers can convert 230-volt AC to 48-volt DC.

[0047] For example, the site 200 may correspond to a base station of a telecommunication network and the site load may comprise telecommunications equipment. The at least one rectifier 201 can convert AC current to DC for the telecommunications equipment. The rectifiers 201 can be behind a fuse panel 203 which can comprise, for example, remote controlled fuses.

[0048] For example, the site 200 may correspond to an electrical system of a building and may comprise DC equipment, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, fluid-based cooling equipment, variable speed motor equipment (also known as variable frequency drives or VFD's) , LED lighting equipment, or auxiliary battery equipment, such as electric vehicle (EV) battery and related DC charging equipment, for example.

[0049] Virtual power plants, such as distributed energy storages (DES) , can control thousands of components at different sites coupled to the power grid. Over time, some components in the sites can break or switch off without notice due to wear and other factors. For example, the fleet of rectifier units can be of varying ages due to rolling updates and wear is expected to differ between units. Statistically, old units serving a high power consumption per recti fier are likely to wear out faster .

[0050] When a rectifier breaks , the remaining rectifiers may not be able to provide enough power to meet the required load power, and a battery unit may need to be used to fill in the remaining power not taken from the grid . This can lead to a site blackout since the battery unit is now discharging as the recti fier power cannot support the load .

[0051 ] Also components surrounding the rectifier, such as the fuse panel , may break or malfunction, which can limit the power feed from the power grid to the site load . This can cause potential blackout situations . I f a fuse breaks or switches off , there may not be any means for reactivating or replacing the fuse other than physically visiting the site . Remote controlled fuses , on the other hand, can be remotely reactivated after being triggered by commands via, for example , a telecommunication network .

[0052] When a component of a site is unexpectedly switched off , it can stop working completely and the site control ler may no longer have access to the functions of the component . I f a rectifier breaks , the site may need to remain operating on the remaining functioning rectifiers . I f a fuse is tripped, the site may need to operate without all equipment behind this particular fuse .

[0053] Each rectifier can have a certain maximum rectifier power capacity, such as 2 kW . The total sum of the maximum rectifier power capacity of each rectifier can determine the total maximum rectifier power capacity of the site . For example , using nine 2 kW rectifiers , one can achieve a total maximum rectifier power capacity of 18 kW .

[0054] A fuse can have a maximum current defined, such as 20A . Thi s can correspond to the fuse power capacity of the fuse . All equipment behind this fuse should not use more than 20A or the fuse can trip . Herein, tripping a fuse may also be referred to as blowing a fuse, triggering a fuse , and/or similar . There can be more than one fuse layer, such as main fuses and secondary fuses . [0055] The equipment of the site 200 can configured to , by for example software , only allow a certain maximum operating power for the at least one rectifier . For example , a set of nine 2 kW rectifiers can be configured to , for example , pull a maximum of 14 kW from the power grid to not trip the fuses .

[0056] On the other hand, there can be an incentive to maximi ze the power capability because this can result in faster battery charge time , but limiting power by, for example , software works against this incentive .

[0057] Since the operational power consumption of the site load can fluctuate by nature , there can be a scenario in which only the peak power of the day in combination with max battery charging will trip the fuses . I f this situation occurs only in very few occasions , the site 200 can be configured to allow power overloading and the fuse layer can be reactivated remotely if the power consumption causes the fuse layer to trip . In thi s situation, the charging speed of the battery can be increased, and normal operations can be allowed in almost all situations except when power peaks trip the fuses .

[0058] The method 100 can enable the site to "self- heal" or at least reduce the damage by automatically setting new parameters in the site in response to an abnormal status . For example , in some embodiments , reconfiguring operation of the site can be used to repair or "self-heal" the site . In some cases it can be possible to self-heal the site to a stable state and in some cases , it is possible to self-heal to a graceful degradation state .

[0059] Fig . 3 illustrates a schematic representation of a site of a virtual power plant according to another embodiment .

[0060] In the embodiment of Fig . 3 , the at least one fuse layer of the site 200 further comprises a layer of main fuses 304 in addition to the fuse panel 203 .

[0061 ] In the embodiment of Fig . 3 , the site 200 further comprises at least one battery unit 303 .

[0062] In other embodiments , the at least one battery unit 303 may comprise alternatively or additionally, for example, a capacitor, a supercapacitor, and/or similar . [0063] The site 200 may further comprise other components not i llustrated in the embodiments of Fig . 2 and Fig . 3 . For example , in some embodiments , the site 200 may further comprise at least one inverter arranged between the at least one battery unit 303 and the site load 301 . For example , the site load 301 may comprise an AC site load and the at least one inverter may be configured to provide power to the AC site load from the at least one battery unit 303 .

[0064] In some embodiments , the site load 301 may comprise a DC site load and an AC site load . Power can be provided by at least one rectifier of the plurality of rectifiers 201 to the DC site load and/or by the at least one inverter to the AC site load .

[0065] According to an embodiment , in response to the abnormal status of the site comprising a malfunction of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers 201 , the reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers 201 comprises increasing the maximum operating power of at least one remaining rectifier 302 in the plurality of rectifiers 201 based at least on the total fuse power capacity to meet the required load power .

[0066] The at least one remaining rectifier 302 may al so be referred to as at least one healthy recti fier, at least one functional rectifier, or similar .

[0067] For example , if one rectifiers of a site 200 malfunctions , the maximum operating power of the remaining rectifiers 302 can be increased in order to compensate for the malfunctioned rectifier .

[0068] For example , in a telecommunications system, a site 200 can comprise nine rectifiers with a maximum recti fier power capacity of 2 kW each . The maximum operating power of each rectifier was limited to 1 . 5kW in order to not overload the fuse panel 203 . Thus , the maximum power capacity was 9 x 1.5 kW = 13.5 kW. A nominal required load power of 12 kW is required by the site load 301 . At a certain moment , two rectifiers malfunction, leaving the site 200 with seven functional rectifiers . Thus , the maximum rectifier power capacity of these two rectifiers is 0W . Thus , the remaining rectifiers 302 are only capable of providing 7 x 1.5 kW = 10.5 kW, which is less than the required load power .

[0069] One option would be to switch on some battery power to make up for the lack of recti fier power . However, when the at least one battery unit 303 runs out , the site 200 may need to shut down .

[0070] When the malfunctioned rectifiers are detected, the maintenance crew can be notif ied about the two malfunctioned rectifiers .

[0071 ] In response to determining that a site blackout can be avoided if the maximum operating power of the remaining rectifiers 302 is increased, the maximum operating power of the remaining rectifiers 302 can be reconfigured to 2 kW per rectifier, which is equal to the maximum rectifier power capacity . With two faulty rectifiers , this will not cause the fuses to be tripped . The remaining rectifiers 302 can therefore provide 7 X 2 kW = 14 kW . This is more than the required load power . The remaining power can be used to , for example , charge the at least one battery unit 303 . [0072] According to an embodiment , the method 100 further comprises , in response to not being able to meet the required load power by reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one recti fier in the plurality of recti fiers , di sabl ing at least a part of the site load .

[0073] For example , in response to it not being possible to avoid a site blackout by reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers 201 but it is possible to gracefully degrade the operation of the site 200 and prolong the uptime , such parameter changes can be sent to the site 200 . For example , some part of the site load 301 can be disabled in order to reduce the required load power to the site load 301 . For example , 5G active antenna systems of a base station can be disconnected/dis- abled .

[0074] For example , in response to it not being pos sible to avoid a site blackout by reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers 201 but it is possible to gracefully degrade the operation of the site 200 and prolong the uptime , such parameter changes can be sent to the site 200 . For example , some part of the site load can be di sabled in order to reduce the required load power to the site load 301 . For example , heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment , fluid-based cooling equipment , variable speed motor equipment ( also known as variable frequency drives or VFD' s ) , LED lighting equipment , or auxiliary battery equipment , such as electric vehicle (EV) battery and related DC charging equipment , could be adj usted/disconnected/disabled, for example .

[0075] Depending on the severity of the abnormal status , different levels of graceful degradation can be used in order to impact the operation of the site 200 as little as possible . For example , how much of the site load 301 is disabled can be based on the estimated power consumption of the different parts of the site load 301 , the amount of battery power avai lable at the site 200 , the amount of power that can be provided by the plurality of rectifiers 201 during the abnormal status etc .

[0076] A ruleset about which actions to prioriti ze in what cases can be util i zed for determining how the operation of the site 200 is gracefully degraded . For example , degrading the performance of the site 200 can be avoided if the site load 301 can be powered without the risk of a site blackout .

[0077] According to an embodiment , the method 100 further comprises , in response to the abnormal status of the s ite comprising a lowering of the total fuse power capacity : lowering the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers based at least on the lowered total fuse power capacity .

[0078] For example , the lowering of the total fuse power capacity can be due to a phase disconnecting in a multi-phase system and/or tripping at least one fuse in the at least one fuse layer .

[0079] For example , in a site 200 compri sing telecommunications equipment with a three-phase input and a secondary fuse panel with 20A fuses , the total fuse power capacity is 3 x 240 V x 20 A = 14.4 kW.

[0080] Due to a wiring fault , one of the phases is disconnected, and the site 200 is left running only on two phases at 2 x 240 V x 20 A = 9.6 kW. The site 200 is configured to now pull more power from the remaining two phases to make up for the lost phase . In this case , the rectifiers connected to the disabled phase cannot be used, only the rectifiers connected to the functional phases can be used . Therefore , the site 200 can only utili ze the capacity of the rectifiers connected to the functional fuses . I f this capacity is less than the required load power, the remaining power can be drawn from the at least one battery unit 303 .

[0081 ] In one example , the phase failure is detected, and the maximum operating power of the rectifiers connected to the functional phases can be reconfigured such that the total maximum operating power is increased . Then the site 200 can still operate the site load 301 without draining the at least one battery unit 303 .

[0082] According to an embodiment , the site further comprises at least one battery unit and the method 100 further comprises , in response to the tripping at least one fuse in the at least one fuse layer, powering the site load at least partially using battery power from the at least one battery unit during the preconf igured time interval .

[0083] For example , in the scenario discussed above , if the required load power is greater than 9 . 6 kW, the at least one battery unit 303 can support the remaining power to keep the site 200 operational .

[0084] According to an embodiment , the site further comprises at least one battery unit and the method 100 further comprises , in response to the abnormal status of the site comprising tripping at least one fuse of the at least one fuse layer during charging of the at least one battery unit , stopping the charging of the at least one battery unit and reactivating the at least one tripped fuse .

[0085] According to an embodiment , the method further comprises reactivating the charging of the at least one battery unit after reactivating the at least one tripped fuse .

[0086] For example , in a site 200 compri sing telecommunications equipment with a three-phase input and a secondary fuse panel with 20A fuses , the maximum operating power of the plurality of rectifiers is configured so that a maximum power consumption of 16 kW is allowed, which is more than what the 20A fuses can support . Since the site 200 operates under the current rating of the fuses most of the time , the site 200 wil l operate normally in most situations .

[0087] In an abnormal situation, a daily peak power is drawn by the site load 301 at the same time as the site 200 is charging the at least one battery unit 303 . Thus , the power consumption is greater than the total fuse power capacity, and one or more fuses are tripped . The site 200 is hence forced to operate on the at least one battery unit 303 for a while and the power loss can be detected .

[0088] In response to detecting the abnormal status of the site 200 , the battery charging of the at least one battery unit 303 can be terminated in order to reduce the power consumption and the tripped fuses can be reactivated, for example remotely . I f the fuses can be reactivated, the battery charging can be disabled until the power consumption has dropped to a safe level .

[0089] According to an embodiment , the method 100 further comprises , in response to detecting the abnormal status of the site , providing an alarm .

[0090] According to an embodiment , the site further comprises at least one battery unit and the method 100 further comprises , powering an AC site load at least partially using battery power from the at least one battery unit via at least one inverter arranged between the at least one battery unit and the AC site load .

[0091 ] For example , the s ite load 301 may compri se a DC site load and an AC site load, wherein power can be provided by the at least one of the plurality of rectifiers 201 , or the at least one of the plurality of inverters , respectively . [0092] Fig . 4 illustrates a flow chart representation of an implementation of the method according to an embodiment .

[0093] In operation 401 , the procedure can start .

[0094] In operation 402 , the status of the site can be monitored . For example , monitoring signals can be transmitted periodically to determine the state of site . [0095] In operation 403 , it can be determined whether the site is operating nominally, for example , whether there is no abnormal site status . In response to the site operation being nominal , the procedure can return to operation 402 . Thus , the operations 402 and 403 can be repeating in a loop until non-nominal operation is detected due to , for example , an abnormal site status .

[0096] In response to the site operation not being nominal , the procedure can proceed to operation 404 and raise an alarm . The alarm can, for example , be sent to a maintenance crew with possibly further information about the abnormal status .

[0097] In operation 405 , it can be determined whether the site can self-heal . The self-healing can comprise , for example , any operations disclosed herein, whereby the site can continue operating by reconfiguring operational parameters , such as the maximum rectifier power capacity of the at least one rectifier .

[0098] In response to the site being able to self- heal , reconfiguration can be sent to the site in operation 406 and the procedure can return to operation 402 . In response to the site not being able to self-heal , the procedure can return to operation 402 .

[0099] Fig . 5 illustrates a schematic representation of a computing device according to an embodiment .

[0100] According to an embodiment , a computing device 500 comprises at least one processor 501 and at least one memory 502 including computer program code , the at least one memory 502 and the computer program code configured to , with the at least one processor 501 , cause the computing device 500 to perform the method 100 .

[0101 ] The computing device 500 may comprise at least one processor 501 . The at least one processor 501 may comprise , for example , one or more of various processing devices , such as a co-proces sor, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor ( DSP) , a processing circuitry with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including integrated circuits such as , for example , an application specific integrated circuit (AS IC) , a field programmable gate array ( FPGA) , a microprocessor unit (MCU) , a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like .

[0102] The computing device 500 may further comprise a memory 502 . The memory 502 may be configured to store , for example , computer programs and the like . The memory 502 may comprise one or more volatile memory devices , one or more non-volati le memory devices , and/or a combination of one or more volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices . For example , the memory 502 may be embodied as magnetic storage devices ( such as hard disk drives, magnetic tapes, etc.) , optical magnetic storage devices, and semiconductor memories (such as mask ROM, PROM (programmable ROM) , EPROM (erasable PROM) , flash ROM, RAM (random access memory) , etc.) .

[0103] The computing device 500 may further comprise other components not illustrated in the embodiment of Fig. 5. The computing device 500 may comprise, for example, an input/output bus for connecting the computing device 500 to other devices.

[0104] When the computing device 500 is configured to implement some functionality, some component and/or components of the computing device 500, such as the at least one processor 501 and/or the memory 502, may be configured to implement this functionality. Furthermore, when the at least one processor 501 is configured to implement some functionality, this functionality may be implemented using program code comprised, for example, in the memory.

[0105] The computing device 500 may be implemented at least partially using, for example, a computer, some other computing device, or similar.

[0106] Fig. 6 illustrates a schematic representation of a virtual power plant according to an embodiment.

[0107] According to an embodiment, a virtual power plant 600 comprises the computing device 500 a plurality of sites 200 of the virtual power plant.

[0108] The computing device 500 can function as a centralized control system for the plurality of sites 200. The computing device 500 can control each site according to the method 100 . The computing device 500 may also be referred to as a centrali zed controller, a virtual power plant controller, a DES controller, a centrali zed control system, a virtual power planet control system, or similar .

[0109] The virtual power plant 600 may also be referred to as a virtual power plant system, a distributed energy storage system, or similar .

[01 10] Each site 200 in the plurality of sites may be coupled to the computing device 500 and to a power grid 602 . Each site 200 can be coupled to the computing device 500 via, for example , a telecommunication network . Thus , the computing device 500 may be configured to control each site in the plurality of sites 200 according to the method 100 .

[01 1 1 ] Fig . 7 illustrates a schematic representation of communication between a computing device and a s ite controller according to an embodiment .

[01 12] According to an embodiment , each site in the plurality of sites 200 comprises a s ite controller 700 and the computing device 500 is configured to perform the reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers of a site with an abnormal status in the plural ity of sites by transmitting at least one configuration parameter to the site controller 700 of the site with the abnormal status .

[01 1 3] The at least one configuration parameter may comprise , for example , any parameter that controls the operation of the site . For example , the at least one configuration parameter may comprise , the maximum operating power of each rectif ier in the plurality of rectifiers , a command to reactivate one or more tripped fuses , a command to stop charging of at least one battery unit , a command to di sable at least a part of the site load, and/or any other operation performed on a site .

[01 14] The sites of the virtual power plant can be coupled to the computing device 500 . The computing device 500 can transmit configuration parameters to the site controllers 700 of the plurality of sites .

[01 1 5] In some embodiments , the computing device 500 can monitoring the configuration parameters and/or measurements of the plurality of sites , for example periodically, to detect abnormal status of a site . In other embodiments , the site controller 700 may monitor the site and transmit an alarm to the computing device 500 in response to an abnormal status of the site .

[01 16] The computing device 500 can use , for example , various heuristics to determine if a site in the plurality of sites 200 is experiencing an abnormal status , such as power loss . In response to detecting an abnormal status , the computing device 500 can send reconfiguration parameters to the s ite controller 700 . The computing device 500 can configure the reconfiguration parameters to be such that a total blackout can be avoided if possible . The heuristics can, for example, determine where in the power chain the power loss has occurred and what remedy to implement in order to degrade the site functionality as little as possible .

[01 1 7] Any range or device value given herein may be extended or altered without losing the effect sought . Also any embodiment may be combined with another embodiment unless explicitly disallowed .

[01 1 8] Although the subj ect matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or acts , it is to be understood that the subj ect matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above . Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as examples of implementing the claims and other equivalent features and acts are intended to be within the scope of the claims .

[01 1 9] It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments . The embodiments are not limited to those that solve any or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits and advantages . It wil l further be understood that reference to ' an ' item may refer to one or more of those items .

[01 20] The steps of the methods described herein may be carried out in any suitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate . Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from any of the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subj ect matter de- scribed herein . Aspects of any of the embodiments described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other embodiments described to form further embodiments without losing the effect sought .

[01 21 ] The term ' comprising ' is used herein to mean including the method, blocks or elements identified, but that such blocks or elements do not comprise an exclusive list and a method or apparatus may contain additional blocks or elements .

[01 22] It will be understood that the above description is given by way of example only and that various modif ications may be made by those ski lled in the art . The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments . Although various embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments , those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this specification .

Claims

CLAIMS :

1 . A computer-implemented method ( 100 ) for managing a site of a virtual power plant , wherein the site comprises a site load, a plurality of rectifiers for providing a required load power to the site load from a power grid, and at least one fuse layer between the plurality of rectifiers and the power grid, the method comprising : configuring ( 101 ) a maximum operating power of each rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers to provide the required load power to the site load based at least on a maximum rectifier power capacity of each rectifier and a total fuse power capacity of the at least one fuse layer ; monitoring ( 102 ) a status of the site ; and in response to detecting an abnormal status of the site affecting at least one of : the maximum recti fier power capacity of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers and/or the total fuse power capacity, reconfiguring ( 103 ) the maximum operating power of at least one recti fier in the plurality of rectif iers to provide the required load power to the site load .

2 . The computer-implemented method ( 100 ) according to claim 1 , the method further comprising, in response to not being able to meet the required load power by reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectif iers , disabling at least a part of the site load .

3 . The computer-implemented method ( 100 ) according to any preceding claim, wherein, in response to the abnormal status of the site comprising a malfunction of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifi ers , the reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers comprises increasing the maximum operating power of at least one remaining rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers based at least on the total fuse power capacity to meet the required load power .

4 . The computer-implemented method ( 100 ) according to any preceding claim, wherein, the method further comprises , in response to the abnormal status of the s ite compri sing a lowering of the total fuse power capacity : lowering the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers based at least on the lowered total fuse power capacity; or maintaining the maximum operating power of the plurality of rectifiers and, in response to tripping at least one fuse in the at least one fuse layer, reactivating the at least one tripped fuse after a preconfigured time interval .

5 . The computer-implemented method ( 100 ) according to claim 4 , wherein the site further compri ses at least one battery unit and the method further comprises , in response to the tripping at least one fuse in the at least one fuse layer, powering the site load at least partially using battery power from the at least one battery unit during the preconfigured time interval.

6. The computer-implemented method (100) according to any preceding claim, the method further comprising, in response to detecting the abnormal status of the site, providing an alarm.

7. The computer-implemented method (100) according to any preceding claim, wherein the site further comprises at least one battery unit and the method further comprises, in response to the abnormal status of the site comprising tripping at least one fuse of the at least one fuse layer during charging of the at least one battery unit, stopping the charging of the at least one battery unit and reactivating the at least one tripped fuse.

8. The computer-implemented method (100) according to claim 7, the method further comprising reactivating the charging of the at least one battery unit after reactivating the at least one tripped fuse.

9. A computing device (500) , comprising at least one processor (501) and at least one memory (502) including computer program code, the at least one memory (502) and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (501) , cause the computing device (500) to perform the method according to any preceding claim.

10. A virtual power plant (600) comprising the computing device (500) according to claim 9 and a plurality of sites (200) of the virtual power plant (600) .

11. The virtual power plant (600) according to claim 10, wherein each site in the plurality of sites (200) comprises a site controller (700) and the computing device (500) is configured to perform the reconfiguring the maximum operating power of at least one rectifier in the plurality of rectifiers of a site with an abnormal status in the plurality of sites (200) by transmitting at least one configuration parameter to the site controller (700) of the site with the abnormal status .

12. A computer program product comprising program code configured to perform the method according to any of claims 1 - 8 when the computer program product is executed on a computer.