CPS:Breakthrough:Software Defined Solar Systems

太阳能组件成本的快速下降促使屋顶和太阳能农场的分布式太阳能发电显著增加。由于电网的设计并不是为了支持大规模分散、间歇性和不可控的太阳能发电，因此对可能接入电网的太阳能数量设置了严格的上限。不幸的是，由于太阳能的快速增长，用户现在开始达到这些上限。此外，设定严格的上限效率极低，而且浪费了电网接受太阳能发电的大部分潜力。相反，就像在互联网上一样，所有用户都应该能够自由地将太阳能模块连接到电网，并动态地共享其传输太阳能的能力。该提案包括硬件在环路仿真活动，将证明该方法的可行性。为了解决这个问题，该项目将对“智能”软件定义太阳能（SDS）系统的设计进行基础研究，该系统可以自我调节进入电网的电力。与互联网中的数据传输类似，SDS系统动态调节流入电网的太阳能，使其可用容量最大化，保持供需平衡，并在连接的用户之间公平地共享可用容量。特别是，该项目将开发公平控制太阳能流的新机制，限制太阳能流入电网的新协议，以及利用电池作为能量缓冲来调节太阳能流的新政策。为了实现SDS，该项目将设计新的机制来公平控制逆变器和充电控制器的太阳能输出，新的协议来限制太阳能注入电网的速率，以及利用电池作为能量缓冲来调节太阳能输出的新政策。总的来说，这些机制和政策将为一类新的太阳能“联网”协议提供技术基础。

The rapid decrease in the cost of solar modules is motivating significant increases in distributed solar generation from rooftops and solar farms. Since the electric grid was not designed to support large-scale decentralized, intermittent, and uncontrollable solar generation, there are strict caps set on the amount of solar energy that may connect to the grid. Unfortunately, due to rapid solar growth, users are now starting to hit these caps. In addition, setting strict caps is highly inefficient, and wastes much of the grid's potential to accept solar power. Instead, as in the Internet, all users should be able to freely connect solar modules to the grid and dynamically share its capacity to transmit solar power. The proposal includes hardware in the loop simulation activities that will demonstrate feasibility of the approach.To address the problem, this project will conduct fundamental research on the design of "smart" software-defined solar (SDS) systems that self-regulate the power they let "flow" into the grid. Similar to data transmission in the Internet, SDS systems dynamically regulate the solar energy that flows into the grid to maximize its available solar capacity, maintain a balanced supply and demand, and fairly share the available capacity among connected users. In particular, the project will develop new mechanisms for fairly controlling solar power flows, new protocols for rate-limiting solar flows into the grid, and new policies for leveraging batteries as energy buffers to regulate solar flows. To enable SDS, the project will design new mechanisms for fairly controlling solar output from inverters and charge controllers, new protocols for rate-limiting solar injection into the grid, and new policies for leveraging batteries as energy buffers to regulate solar output. Collectively, these mechanisms and policies will provide the technical foundation for a new class of "networking" protocols for solar energy.