SBIR Phase I: A Retrofittable Storage + Blockchain Module for Distributed Energy Resources

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力解决了老化的美国电网面临的最大问题之一：整合分布式能源资产，主动向电网提供清洁能源，以取代昂贵的化石燃料发电机产生的峰值功率。 拟议的创新是一个支持区块链的“虚拟发电厂”（VPP）网络，它可以自主聚合来自分布式能源资产的电力，将允许零售消费者出售多余的电力（来自清洁能源），以促进分散化，而不会牺牲电网稳定性，仅在输电和配电损失方面就有可能节省10 B美元/年。 这一创新为整个电网生态系统提供了可持续的价值主张，同时使公用事业和/或电网运营商能够保持可观察性，保持电网控制，并克服其他电网现代化工作可能遇到的监管障碍。 基于区块链的VPP的进一步好处是固有的网络安全性，可再生能源发电量的完全透明性，以及在任何给定时间表后系统中存储/可用能量的不可变记录。 该SBIR第一阶段项目提议为并网分布式能源（DER）创建一个分布式账本，其中区块链环境建立了一个交易能源市场，旨在与商业安装的基础设施进行互操作。 核心目标是：i）建立包括来自代表美国近200万个住宅太阳能装置的电力电子组件的操作数据的数据库;并开发智能合约框架以实现交易能源市场，其中可以实施规则，使客户能够参与359亿B美元的需求响应服务市场（2025年估计）。 数据库和交易能源环境的设计将使第二阶段围绕数据分析的工作能够最大限度地提高电网服务收入流的价值，以及AI驱动的聚合机制和能源利用的优化，可以推动解决方案的企业价值。 第一阶段的工作将利用一个开源的私有、许可的区块链架构，这样工作就可以集中在设计一个模拟交易能源环境的概念演示上，在各种市场验证和推动客户获取的情况下完善价值主张。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估，更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project addresses one of the largest problems facing the aging U.S. power grid: integrating distributed energy assets to proactively supply clean energy to the electricity grid to supplant peak power derived from expensive fossil-fuel generators. The proposed innovation, a blockchain-enabled "Virtual Power Plant" (VPP) network that autonomously aggregates power from distributed energy assets, will allow retail consumers to sell excess power (derived from clean energy) to promote decentralization without sacrificing grid stability, with potential for saving upwards of $10 B/year on transmission and distribution losses alone. This innovation fosters a sustainable value proposition to the entire grid ecosystem, while enabling the utility and/or grid operator to maintain observability, retain grid control, and obviate regulatory hurdles that other grid modernization efforts may encounter. The further benefits of a blockchain-based VPP are inherent cybersecurity, full transparency over how much electricity comes from renewable sources, as well as an immutable record of how much energy is stored/available in Behind-the-Meter systems at any given time. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to create a distributed ledger for grid-tied Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), wherein the blockchain environment establishes a transactive energy marketplace, designed for drop-in readiness for interoperability with commercially-installed infrastructure. The core objectives are to: i) build the database comprising operational data from power electronics components representative of the nearly 2 million residential solar installations in the US; ii) develop the energy tokens that are ascribed to the energy unit data from the database; and develop the smart contract framework to effectuate the transactive energy marketplace, where rules can be implemented to enable customers to participate in the $35.9 B market for demand-response services (2025 estimate). The database and transactive energy environment will be designed such that Phase II efforts surrounding data analytics to maximize the value of grid services revenue streams, as well as AI-driven optimization of aggregation mechanisms and energy utilization, can drive the enterprise value of the solution. An open-source private, permissioned blockchain architecture will be leveraged for Phase I efforts, such that the work can focus on designing a concept demonstrates that emulates transactive energy environments, to refine the value proposition under various scenarios for market validation and driving customer acquisition.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.