Electricity generation, storage and distribution system and process

Abstract

The invention relates to an electricity generation, storage and distribution system and process. The system comprises a plurality of electricity consumers, solar power plants with an energy storage device and with a device for producing electricity from matter, a plurality of devices for producing energy from matter, a plurality of substations, and associated control, measurement and communication equipment. The electricity distribution process controls the system on the basis of an artificial intelligence-based algorithm in a way that power cables are not overloaded, even in the event of increased electricity demand.

Description

[0001] Electricity generation, storage and distribution system and process

[0002] Field of invention

[0003] The invention relates to an electricity generation, storage and distribution system and process.

[0004] Prior Art

[0005] Climate change and global warming are forcing mankind to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2. CO2 emissions are caused by the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, fuel oil, petrol, etc. The trend is to replace conventional fossil fuel power plants with more environmentally friendly ones such as solar and wind power plants. The problem is that their operation cannot be planned, as they depend on weather conditions.

[0006] In the field of building heating, fossil fuel and wood heating devices are being replaced by heat pumps, and in the field of transport, internal combustion engine vehicles are being replaced by electric vehicles. This trend is not only expected to continue but to accelerate. Existing electricity distribution systems will therefore be increasingly burdened. Increased electric currents may lead to overloading and outages of electric power distribution systems. A solution may lie in replacing existing power lines and substations with more powerful ones, but this entails high investment costs and requires huge amounts of time.

[0007] Technical problem

[0008] According to a 2018 study by The Milan Vidmar Electric Power Research Institute, 3,500 km of cables per year and 1,000 substations per year would need to be replacedby 2030 in Slovenia alone to meet the increased demand for electricity. This, of course, represents a huge financial and logistical burden.

[0009] The technical problem is how to provide an electricity generation, storage and distribution system and process that will be capable of meeting the increased electricity demand with existing power lines and existing substations.

[0010] Solution to the technical problem

[0011] The solution of the invention is based on the creation of a system consisting of a plurality of solar power plants provided with energy storage devices to store the excess electricity generated on a daily basis, the solar power plants not operating independently but being connected at low-voltage level to a first substation to form a first subsystem controlled by an artificial intelligence operated computational control unit of the first substation, and of solid-state energy storage devices to store seasonal excess electricity generated, which may be used to cover the electricity needs in prolonged periods of low solar insolation, the solid-state energy storage devices being connected at low-voltage level to a second substation to form a second subsystem controlled by a computational control unit of the second substation. All low-voltage loops are connected via medium-voltage network to a distribution substation by way of a computational control unit of the distribution substation which controls the plurality of the first and second subsystems by means of artificial intelligence. The artificial intelligence uses the metering data in the system and other system related data (e.g. configuration of the cable distribution network) and external data (e.g. meteorological data) to control the system to provide the necessary amount of electricity to the electricity consumers at any time, without overloading the power lines. It manages the charging and discharging strategy for electricity storage devices and solid-state energy storage devices based on system status and weather forecasts, and continuously adjusts it according to the actual situation. At the same time, itensures that energy losses are as low as possible. They are lowest when the energy is transmitted directly from the source to the consumer, higher when stored in an energy storage device, and highest when stored in a solid-state energy storage device. The computational control unit of the first substation calculates the energy status (electric current, voltage and the angle between them) in the low-voltage network and outputs commands to slave solar power plants so these produce a sinusoidal voltage with the calculated amplitude and angle with respect to the reference voltage of the mediumvoltage side of the substation. All computational control units are provided with communication modules, so they can communicate with each other via 5G, radio communication or electrical grid. A combination of said communication modes may be provided for better operation reliability. In addition to solar power plants the system may, of course, include also other power plants, such as wind power plants, hydro power plants etc.

[0012] The technical problem is solved by an electricity generation, storage and distribution system of claim 1 and an electricity distribution process of claim 7.

[0013] Figure 1 : Electricity generation, storage and distribution system diagram

[0014] Figure 2: Solid-state energy storage device

[0015] Figure 3: Device for producing electricity from matter

[0016] Figure 4: Voltage signal conversion diagrams on the medium-voltage side of the first substation to obtain information on the shape of the signal

[0017] Figure 5: Charger diagram

[0018] The invention is described in the following in more detail by way of embodiments.

[0019] The technical problem is solved by an electricity generation, storage and distribution system 100 comprising:

[0020] - a cable distribution network which further comprises a high-voltage network, a plurality of medium- voltage networks and a plurality of low-voltage networks,- a plurality of distribution substations 30 that connect the high-voltage network with a respective medium-voltage network, each distribution substation being provided with a computational control unit 31 of the distribution substation to control the medium-voltage network, each of the distribution substations 30 having on each of the three phases on the high-voltage side a first 32 and on the medium-voltage side a second 33 meter of electric current, voltage and angle between them, and each computational control unit 31 of the distribution substation having a communication module to communicate the control commands to slave computational control units 41, 61 of the first and second substations, the control commands being generated by an artificial intelligence based algorithm, this algorithm generating commands to control all slave parts of the system in the medium-voltage network on the basis of metering data from the slave parts of the system, geolocation data of the solar power plants, the meteorological data as well as the data on configuration and cross- sections of the cable distribution network to meet electricity demands of all low-voltage loops in long term, while at the same time none of the medium-voltage cables and the first or the second substation is overloaded, the algorithm at the same time assures that energy losses are kept to a minimum by operating in accordance with the following priorities: highest priority is transmission of energy in the low-voltage networks for the supply of consumers, somewhat lower priority is transmission of energy between low-voltage networks for the supply of slave consumers of adjacent substations, and lowest priority is transmission of energy between low-voltage networks for the solid-state energy storage,

[0021] - a plurality of first 40 and second 60 substations connecting the medium- voltage network with the associated low-voltage network, where further each respective first and second 40 and 60 substation on each of the three phases on the medium-voltage side is provided with a respective third and fourth meter 42 and 62 of electricity, voltage and angle between the voltage and current, and on the low- voltage side with a respective fifth and sixth meter 43 and 63, eachfirst and second substation being provided with a respective computational control unit 41 and 61 of the first and second substations, each computational control unit 41 of the first substation further comprising a zero-crossing detector to convert a voltage signal USRon the medium- voltage network side to a pulse signal UPi, an oscillator to generate a high-frequency signal U\ , a circuit to superpose the high-frequency signal to the voltage signal on the low- voltage network side, an oscillator to generate a high-frequency signal and a circuit to superpose the high-frequency signal to the voltage signal on the low- voltage network side to obtain a signal UN, each computational control unit of the first substation further comprising a communication module to communicate with a master computational control unit of the distribution substation and a communication module to communicate the control commands to the slave computational control units of the solar power plants, the control commands being generated by an artificial intelligence based algorithm, this algorithm comprising commands to control all slave parts of the system on the basis of metering data from the slave parts of the system, geolocation data of the solar power plants, the meteorological data as well as the data on configuration and cross-sections of the low-voltage network cables to meet electricity demands of all low-voltage loops in short term, while at the same time none of the low- voltage network cables is overloaded, the algorithm at the same time assures that energy losses are kept to a minimum by operating in accordance with the following priorities: highest priority is supply of consumers within the low-voltage loop with electricity generated within the low-voltage loop, somewhat lower priority is transmission of excess energy to the medium-voltage network, a still lower priority is loading the consumers within the adjacent low- voltage loops, and lowest priority is transmission of energy to a solid-state energy storage device,

[0022] - a plurality of solid-state energy storage devices 1 connected on the low-voltage side with a respective second substation 60, each solid-state energy storage device comprising a computational control unit 19 of the solid-state energystorage device provided with a communication module to communicate with the computational control unit of the second substation, each solid-state energy storage device 1 being provided with a seventh electric current meter 18, - a plurality of electricity consumers 70 connected via the low-voltage network with the first substation 40, each electricity consumer 70 being provided with an eighth meter 72 of electric current, voltage and angle between them and with a computational control unit 71 of the consumer,

[0023] - a plurality of electricity generation and storage units 80 connected via the low- voltage network with the first substation 40 and further comprising:

[0024] - at least one solar power plant 50 provided with a computational control unit 51 of the power plant and a ninth meter 52 of electricity and voltage, the computational control unit 51 of the solar power plant further comprising

[0025] o a unit to receive the superposed high-frequency signal UN,

[0026] o a narrow-band filter provided to filter the superposed high-frequency signal to obtain a pulse signal UP2,

[0027] o a communication module to communicate with the computational control unit 41 of the first substation, and

[0028] o a communication module to communicate with the slave units comprising an energy storage device 53, a device 20 for producing energy from matter, the solar power plant 50 and an inverter 90, each group of consumers and electricity generation and storage units 80 being provided with a thirteenth meter 73 of electric current, voltage and angle between them,

[0029] - at least one device 20 for producing energy from matter provided with a fourteenth meter 22 of electric current and voltage and with a computational control unit 21 of the device for producing energy from matter comprising a communication module to communicate with the communication module of the computational control unit 51 of the solar power plant,- at least one energy storage device 53, each energy storage device being provided with a computational control unit 55 of the energy storage device acting as a capacity meter of the energy storage device and having a communication module to communicate with the communication module of the computational control unit 51 of the solar power plant and with a tenth meter 54 of electric current and voltage of the energy storage device, - a D / A inverter 90 having a computational control unit 91 of the inverter to receive a pulse signal UP2and convert it to a reference signal USEreceived by the inverter, forming a power signal from it, the pulse signal UP2serving as a reference for a phase shift of the voltage generated by the solar power plant to make a phase shift and voltage amplitude as requested by the command output by the computational control unit 41 of the first substation, the inverter being provided with an eleventh meter 92 of electric current, voltage and angle between them, and

[0030] - a charger 81 connected at one side with the solar power plant 50 and the device 20 for producing energy from matter and at the other side with the energy storage device 53 and via the inverter 90 with the low-voltage network and provided with an eleventh meter 82 of electric current and voltage.

[0031] For the purposes of this patent application, an energy storage device is understood to be a conventional battery, e.g. a Li-ion battery, or a battery capable of storing small amounts of energy, e.g. a daily output of a solar power plant. While a solid-state energy storage device is understood as a device capable of storing large amounts of energy and operating with a lower yield than the energy storage device. The solid-state energy storage device has capacities of storing energy in a range of some 1000 households.From the data of the ninth meter 52 of measured electric currents from the solar panels, the computational control unit 51 of the solar power plant obtains the data on the properties of the solar panels with respect to their ageing and with respect to daily and annual insolation, thus providing data on the anticipated power output of the solar power plant.

[0032] The energy storage device may be Li-Ion based and may consist of 3.6 V cells connected in series. The computational control unit of the storage device monitors all the data of the slave system for the operation of cells. The charge and discharge currents are identical for all cells. While in operation, the computational control unit of the storage device calculates all parameters of each cell. When these parameters are in an unpermitted range and undesired conditions (fire) might occur, the computational control unit takes measures to prevent them. For instance, if the temperature is too high, cooling is turned on or the storage device is disconnected (charging and discharging). This data is communicated to the computational control unit of the solar power plant and the computational control unit of the first substation which takes the outage into account when planning the supply to the consumers. Defects are communicated to the service department that eliminates them; e.g. replaces an under-capacitated cell with a new one. If the temperature is too high, the substation's computer can make new computations by disconnecting the solar power plant with the overloaded battery and switching on another solar power plant instead.

[0033] The charger 81 uses all the energy available from the solar power plant, supplemented, if necessary, by the energy from the device for producing energy from matter. The charger capacitor is first charged with the energy from the solar power plant and, if this is insufficient, with the energy from the device for producing energy from matter, then it is discharged to the energy storage device or low-voltage network.

[0034] The communication modules of individual computational control units communicate the measuring data to the communication modules of the computational control unitsof the master devices and then receive control commands from them to control the slave devices. There are three communication cycles:

[0035] a) The communication module of the computational control unit of the power plant receives the measuring data from the communication modules of the computational control units of the device for producing energy from matter, the energy storage device and the inverter and sends control commands to the communication modules of the computational control units of these slave devices. Communication can be via FTP cable and communication channels can be RS422.

[0036] b) The communication module of the computational control unit of the first substation receives the measuring data from the communication modules of the computational control units of all slave solar power plants and the consumers and sends control commands to the communication modules of the computational control units of these slave solar power plants. These commands are adapted to each individual solar power plant. The communication module of the computational control unit of the second substation receives the measuring data from the communication modules of the computational control units of all slave solid-state energy storage devices and sends control commands to the communication module of the computational control unit of the master distribution substation.

[0037] c) The communication module of the computational control unit of the distribution substation receives the data from the communication modules of the computational control units of all slave first and second substations and sends control commands to the communication modules of the computational control units of these slave first and second substations.

[0038] Communication in a) and b) is conducted over a wireless mobile network (e.g. 5G), via reserved radio frequencies and / or over the power grid. This ensures the necessary stability and security against possible malicious hacking of the system. For the same reason, the communication must be encrypted.

[0039] The solid-state energy storage device 1 comprises:- a storage tank 2 of an aqueous zinc chloride solution,

[0040] - a first conduit 3 for feeding the aqueous zinc chloride solution from the storage tank 2 of aqueous zinc chloride solution to a dryer 4,

[0041] - a dryer 4 comprising a first heating device for drying the zinc chloride and a first temperature gauge,

[0042] - a second conduit 5 for feeding the dried zinc chloride from the dryer 4 to a first electrolysis device 6,

[0043] - a first electrolysis device 6 comprising a second heating device for heating the zinc chloride to a temperature greater than 290°C, preferably to a temperature between 310°C and 330°C, most preferably to a temperature of about 320°C, a second temperature gauge, an anode in the form of a zinc plate, and a graphite cathode,

[0044] - a zinc plate storage vessel 17,

[0045] a mechanism for transferring the zinc plates from the first electrolysis device into the zinc plate storage vessel 17 and vice versa, a third conduit 7 for feeding chlorine from the first electrolysis device 6 to a first reactor 10, - a second electrolysis device 8 comprising a fourth conduit for feeding water thereto,

[0046] - a fifth conduit for the discharge of oxygen from the second electrolysis device 8,

[0047] - a sixth conduit 9 for feeding hydrogen from the second electrolysis device to the first reactor 10,

[0048] - the first reactor 10 comprising an arc burner 11 for the production of hydrogen chloride,

[0049] - a seventh conduit 12 for feeding hydrogen chloride from the first reactor to a vessel,

[0050] - a vessel 13 comprising an eighth conduit for water supply, a sprayer 14 for generating water droplets and a measuring device for measuring pH values, - a ninth conduit 15 having a valve for the discharge of hydrochloric acid from the vessel into the hydrochloric acid storage tank,- a hydrochloric acid storage tank 16, and

[0051] - the computational control unit 19 of the solid-state energy storage device.

[0052] The heat released from the combustion of chlorine and hydrogen can be usefully applied in the first heating device to dry and then melt zinc chloride.

[0053] A solid-state energy storage process comprises the following steps:

[0054] - providing a solid-state energy storage device 1,

[0055] - drying the zinc chloride in a dryer 4,

[0056] - feeding the dried zinc chloride to a first electrolysis device 6,

[0057] melting the zinc chloride in the first electrolysis device 6,

[0058] - electrolysis of the zinc chloride to produce zinc in solid form and chlorine in gaseous form,

[0059] - electrolysis of water to produce oxygen and hydrogen,

[0060] - feeding chlorine and hydrogen to a first reactor 10 having an arc burner 11 to produce hydrogen chloride,

[0061] - dissolving the hydrogen chloride in water to produce hydrochloric acid, - measuring the pH value of the hydrochloric acid; and

[0062] - discharging the hydrochloric acid into the hydrochloric acid storage tank when the measured pH value of the hydrochloric acid is lower than the predetermined value.

[0063] The device 20 for producing energy from matter comprises:

[0064] - a hydrochloric acid storage tank 16,

[0065] - a tenth conduit 26 for feeding the hydrochloric acid from the hydrochloric acid storage tank 16 to a second reactor 27,

[0066] - a mechanism for transferring the zinc plates from the zinc plate storage vessel 17 to the second reactor 27 and vice versa,

[0067] - the second reactor 27 for reacting the zinc and hydrochloric acid,- an eleventh conduit 23 for discharging the aqueous zinc chloride solution to the storage tank 2 of aqueous zinc chloride solution,

[0068] - a twelfth conduit 24 for feeding the hydrogen from the second reactor 27 to a fuel cell 25,

[0069] - the fuel cell 25 for generating electricity; and

[0070] - the computational control unit 21 of the device for producing energy from matter.

[0071] The computational control unit 21 of the device for producing energy from matter monitors the fuel level in the tank 16, 17 and communicates it to the servicing department, such that the tank or more specifically its content is replaced in time.

[0072] A process for producing energy from matter comprises the following steps:

[0073] - providing a device 20 for producing energy from matter,

[0074] - feeding zinc plates and hydrochloric acid to a second reactor 27,

[0075] - reacting zinc and hydrochloric acid in the second reactor 27 to produce hydrogen and an aqueous zinc chloride solution,

[0076] - discharging the aqueous zinc chloride solution to the storage tank 2 of aqueous zinc chloride solution,

[0077] - feeding hydrogen and oxygen into a fuel cell 25 to produce energy.

[0078] Hydrochloric acid and zinc plates are distributed by truck from the solid-state energy storage devices to individual devices for producing energy from matter, replenishing energy reserves for days without sun.

[0079] The computational control unit 41 of the first substation issues commands to each solar power plant regarding the parameters to be used to supply energy. If the computational control unit of the first substation has to add energy from the low-voltage side to the medium-voltage side, an additional problem arises because the substation acts as an element that rotates the angle between voltage and current, so itis necessary to measure the voltage, the current and the angle between them on the medium- voltage side of the substation. In order to regulate these parameters correctly, it is necessary to adjust these parameters so that the solar power plant inverters provide the optimum status of energy on the medium-voltage side of the substation. The computation is done by the computational control unit of the first substation, which then commands the operation of a respective slave solar power plant and the device for producing energy from matter. A respective solar power plant controls the magnitude of the current flowing into the first substation on the low-voltage side and the angle between the electric current and voltage by varying the angle between the electric current and the voltage with respect to the voltage of the medium- voltage side of the first substation. In doing so, the computational control unit of the first substation must regulate the currents in the low-voltage side cables such that the rated values are not exceeded. The computation is performed by the computational control unit of the first substation. The computational control unit of the first substation measures the sine of the voltage Usrand sends its shape in the form of high-frequency signals to the low- voltage side, so that a signal is present when there is a positive halfperiod on the medium- voltage side of the network, and no signal is present when there is a negative half-period. The unit for receiving the high-frequency signal in the computational control unit of the solar power plants thus generates a reference needed by the computational control unit of the inverter to then move its voltage based on the commands of the computational control unit of the first substation.

[0080] Figure 4 shows six diagrams. The third meter 42 of electric current, voltage and the angle between them measures the voltage USRof the first substation on the side of the medium- voltage network (first diagram). The computational control unit 41 of the first substation, by using the zero-crossing detector, converts the voltage signal USRon the side of the medium-voltage network to a pulse signal UP1(second diagram). The oscillator generates a high-frequency signal UVF which is passed in line with the pulse signal Upi (third diagram). The high-frequency signal so obtained is superposed on the voltage of the first substation on the side of the low- voltage network to give a signalUN(fourth diagram). This signal is transmitted over the low- voltage network and received by the receiving unit to receive the superimposed high-frequency signal, which generates the pulse signal UP2using the narrow-band filter of the solar power plant's computational control unit 51 (fifth diagram). The computational control unit 91 of the inverter receives the pulse signal UP2and converts it to the reference signal USEreceived by the inverter and formed to an equal power signal. The last diagram represents the reference signal USEwhich is identical in shape to the voltage provided by the solar power plant by means of the inverter. From the pulse signal UP2from the fifth diagram, the computational control unit of the inverter obtains information on the voltage frequency on the side of the medium- voltage network and on the moment the voltage on the side of the medium-voltage network crosses zero. In this way, the command of the computational control unit of the first substation can be implemented in relation to the shift A of the output voltage of the solar power plant from the inverter based on the voltage on the side of the medium- voltage network.

[0081] The computational control unit 31 of the distribution substation controls the electric currents in the medium- voltage network. If the load on the cables is lower than permitted, it issues permission to the computational control units 41 of the substations to send the surplus electricity to the solid-state energy storage devices 1, where the electricity is converted into chemical energy.

[0082] The calculation of the electric currents and voltages in the computational control unit 31 of the distribution substation and the computational control unit 41 of the substation is carried out on the basis of Ohm's law and the two Kirchhoffs laws.

[0083] Figure 5 shows a structure and the operation mode of the charger 81 that controls the electric currents based on the commands of the computational control unit of the solar power plant. The circles represent energy sources, namely a solar power plant (S), a device for producing electricity from matter (K) and an energy storage device (B). Transistors T1 to T9 connect capacitors Cl to C3 to individual energy sources.Comparators KI to K9 compare the voltages of individual capacitors Cl to C3 with voltage sources. The counter can have 3 states: 0, 1, 2 and for a moment state 3 which resets the counter to state 0. Each state is decoded with AND, NON and OR gates. When a condition is met, a decoder becomes 1 and thus gives a clock pulse to the counter, which consequently changes the state. The counter state decoder opens a specific combination of transistors which perform a specific operation. State 0 connects the capacitor Cl to the solar power plant, the capacitor C2 to the device for producing energy from matter, and the capacitor C3 to the energy storage device. State 1 connects the capacitor Cl to the device for producing energy from matter, the capacitor C2 to the energy storage device, and the capacitor 3 to the solar power plant. State 2 connects the capacitor Cl to the energy storage device, the capacitor C2 to the solar power plant, and the capacitor 3 to the device for producing energy from matter. The criterion for a pulse emitted to the counter is met when the voltages across the capacitors are equalized to the voltage sources to which they are connected. At that point, both capacitors connected to the solar power plant and to the device for producing energy from matter are charged. The capacitor connected to the energy storage device is discharged. When this is satisfied, a clock pulse on the counter shifts the counter to the following state and connects the capacitor that was connected to the solar power plant to the device for producing energy from matter. A chemical power plant has a higher voltage than the solar power plant, but the current flowing from the device for producing energy from matter to the capacitor is less than it would be if the capacitor that would be connected to the voltage of the energy storage device were connected to the device for producing energy from matter. This reduces the required current of the device for producing energy from matter by the energy that the solar power plant can deliver at any given time. The capacitor that has been connected to the device for producing energy from matter is in turn connected to the energy storage device and delivers energy to the energy storage device. Whenever the clock pulse condition of the counter is met, the capacitors switch such that the capacitor having the energy from the device for producing energy from matter charges the energy storage device, while the empty capacitor that was previously connected to the energystorage device switches to the lowest voltage available at the solar power plant. In this way, the energy storage device is fed from two different voltage sources and the consumption of energy from matter is minimised by the amount that can be obtained from the sun. This is important for the days not having enough sunshine, but the sunshine can still be exploited as much as possible.

[0084] The invention further relates to an electricity distribution process comprising:

[0085] - providing said system 100,

[0086] - providing data on the configuration and cross-sections of the cable distribution grid,

[0087] - obtaining data on measured voltages of individual cells of the energy storage device and capacities of the energy storage devices and communicating this data to the computational control unit of the solar power plant and the computational control unit of the first substation,

[0088] - obtaining data on measured currents of the solar power plants and communicating this data to the computational control unit of the first substation,

[0089] - providing data on locations of the solar power plants and the weather forecasts for each location,

[0090] - providing data on the chemical energy stock in the matter, i.e. the amount of hydrochloric acid and zinc,

[0091] - providing data on the electrical voltage, the electric current and the angle between them for all three phases of the medium voltage grid by means of the third meter 42,

[0092] - wherein the computational control unit of the distribution substation, on the basis of the data obtained and on the basis of the artificial intelligence-based algorithm:

[0093] o regulates the currents in the cables on the medium-voltage side of the substation so that the electric current demand of all slave substations is met and no cable of the medium- voltage network is overloaded,o on the basis of the measurements of the currents, voltages and angles between them on the medium-voltage side of the first and second substations, and of the data on the status of the electricity stocks, computes the necessary currents, voltages and angles between them for sending electricity from one of the slave first and second substations through the medium-voltage network to the other slave first and second substations,

[0094] - wherein the computational control unit of the first and second substations, on the basis of the data obtained and on the basis of the artificial intelligencebased algorithm:

[0095] o sees to it that the cables of the low-voltage network and the first and second substations are not overloaded,

[0096] - wherein the computational control unit of the first substation further:

[0097] o decides on the source from which electricity is to be obtained for supplying consumers and for transmission from the low-voltage network to the medium-voltage network, based on a request from the computational control unit of the distribution substation,

[0098] o outputs commands to the servicing department to replace the emptied tanks by filled ones,

[0099] o monitors the performance of solar power plants over time and, if it detects a drop in the performance under a predetermined value, outputs a command for servicing or replacing the solar panels,

[0100] o monitors the performance of the energy storage devices over time and, if it detects a drop in the capacity of a particular energy storage device, outputs commands to replace the cells of the energy storage device, the capacity of which has dropped under a certain predetermined value, o decides on sending electricity from the solar power plant to the low- voltage network and to the energy storage device,

[0101] - wherein the computational control unit of the second substation further:o decides on the production of electricity from the chemical energy stored in matter,

[0102] - wherein the computational control unit of the solar power plant:

[0103] o collects data on the operation of solar panels in time and communicates it to the computational control unit of the first substation, o collects data on the status of the cells of the energy storage device in time and communicates it to the computational control unit of the first substation,

[0104] o minimises losses due to reactive energy,

[0105] o controls the inverters by restoring the electrical voltage signal of the medium-voltage side of the substation from the high-frequency signals sent to the substation and, according to this signal, generates the electrical voltage on the low-voltage network so that the electrical voltage is shifted with respect to the medium voltage by an angle as required by the computational control unit of the substation which also determines the amount of electrical voltage generated by the inverter.

[0106] We speak of reactive energy when there is a certain angle (time delay) between the current and the voltage. In vector form, this can be represented as a current that is in phase with the voltage, and a current that is perpendicular to the voltage. The former is called working current, and the second is reactive current which cannot do work but causes losses in cables. The desire is to minimize the reactive current. Solar power plants can operate in two ways. In the first mode, the solar power plants only add energy for consumption by the consumers and the voltage in the low- voltage network is fixed by the transformed voltage from the network. In this case, the solar power plants must shift their voltage with respect to the voltage of the first substation on the medium- voltage side in a way that the current from the solar power plant is as much as possible in phase with said voltage of the first substation or is shifted if requested by the computational control unit of the first substation. In the second mode, the solar power plants emit energy into the medium- voltage network. The current transmitted tothe medium-voltage network by the first substation must be as much as possible in phase with the voltage of the substation on the medium-voltage side. In this case, the computational control unit 41 of the first substation measures the voltage on the medium-voltage network and then sends the positive half-periods of one phase as high-frequency signals to the low-voltage network. The solar power plants receive these signals and are thus informed when each half-period starts and when a negative half-period starts. The computational control unit of the substation receives the data on the current from the substation and on the angle between the voltage and the current on the medium- voltage side. If the angle is not close to zero degrees (operating current), it outputs a tailored command to a respective solar power plant to shift the angle of its voltage with respect to the high-frequency signals in the low-voltage network. The control loop keeps repeating and the voltage shift of the solar power plants is constantly oscillating around the most optimal point so that the current from the substation to the medium-voltage network is as much as possible in phase with the medium- voltage voltage (operating current). In addition, the regulation must also take into account the amount of current supplied to the medium-voltage side of the first substation. This amount of current is related to the voltage angle of the solar power plants with respect to the medium- voltage voltage and to the voltage amplitude. The computational control unit of the substation ensures that the permissible voltage in the low-voltage network is not exceeded and that the rated value of the currents in individual cables is not exceeded.

Claims

Claims1. An electricity generation, storage and distribution system (100) comprising:- a cable distribution network which further comprises a high-voltage network, a plurality of medium- voltage networks and a plurality of low-voltage networks, - a plurality of distribution substations (30) that connect the high-voltage network with a respective medium-voltage network, each distribution substation being provided with a computational control unit (31) of the distribution substation to control the medium-voltage network, each of the distribution substations (30) having on each of the three phases on the high- voltage side a first (32) and on the medium-voltage side a second (33) meter of electric current, voltage and angle between them, and each computational control unit (31) of the distribution substation having a communication module to communicate the control commands to slave computational control units (41, 61) of the first and second substations, the control commands being generated by an artificial intelligence based algorithm, this algorithm generating commands to control all slave parts of the system in the mediumvoltage network on the basis of metering data from the slave parts of the system, geolocation data of the solar power plants, the meteorological data as well as the data on configuration and cross-sections of the cable distribution network to meet electricity demands of all low-voltage loops in long term, while at the same time none of the medium- voltage cables and the first or the second substation is overloaded, the algorithm at the same time assures that energy losses are kept to a minimum by operating in accordance with the following priorities: highest priority is transmission of energy in the low- voltage networks for the supply of consumers, somewhat lower priority is transmission of energy between low-voltage networks for the supply of slave consumers of adjacent substations, and lowest priority is transmission of energy between low-voltage networks for the solid-state energy storage,- a plurality of first (40) and second (60) substations connecting the mediumvoltage network with the associated low-voltage network, where further each respective first and second (40 and 60) substation on each of the three phases on the medium-voltage side is provided with a respective third and fourth meter (42 and 62) of electricity, voltage and angle between the voltage and current, and on the low-voltage side with a respective fifth and sixth meter (43 and 63), each first and second substation being provided with a respective computational control unit (41 and 61) of the first and second substations, each computational control unit (41) of the first substation further comprising a zero-crossing detector to convert a voltage signal USRon the medium- voltage network side to a pulse signal UP1, an oscillator to generate a high-frequency signal UVF, a circuit to superpose the high-frequency signal to the voltage signal on the low-voltage network side, an oscillator to generate a high- frequency signal and a circuit to superpose the high-frequency signal to the voltage signal on the low-voltage network side to obtain a signal UN, each computational control unit of the first substation further comprising a communication module to communicate with a master computational control unit of the distribution substation and a communication module to communicate the control commands to the slave computational control units of the solar power plants, the control commands being generated by an artificial intelligence based algorithm, this algorithm comprising commands to control all slave parts of the system on the basis of metering data from the slave parts of the system, geolocation data of the solar power plants, the meteorological data as well as the data on configuration and cross-sections of the low-voltage network cables to meet electricity demands of all low-voltage loops in short term, while at the same time none of the low-voltage network cables is overloaded, the algorithm at the same time assures that energy losses are kept to a minimum by operating in accordance with the following priorities: highest priority is supply of consumers within the low-voltage loop with electricity generated within the low-voltage loop, somewhat lower priority is transmissionof excess energy to the medium-voltage network, a still lower priority is loading the consumers within the adjacent low-voltage loops, and lowest priority is transmission of energy to a solid-state energy storage device, - a plurality of solid-state energy storage devices (1) connected on the low- voltage side with a respective second substation (60), each solid-state energy storage device comprising a computational control unit (19) of the solid-state energy storage device provided with a communication module to communicate with the computational control unit of the second substation, each solid-state energy storage device (1) being provided with a seventh electric current meter (18),- a plurality of electricity consumers (70) connected via the low-voltage network with the first substation (40), each electricity consumer (70) being provided with an eighth meter (72) of electric current, voltage and angle between them and with a computational control unit (71) of the consumer,- a plurality of electricity generation and storage units (80) connected via the low-voltage network with the first substation (40) and further comprising: - at least one solar power plant (50) provided with a computational control unit (51) of the power plant and a ninth meter (52) of electricity and voltage, the computational control unit (51) of the solar power plant further comprisingo a unit to receive the superposed high-frequency signal UN,o a narrow-band filter provided to filter the superposed high-frequency signal to obtain a pulse signal UP2,o a communication module to communicate with the computational control unit (41) of the first substation, ando a communication module to communicate with the slave units comprising an energy storage device (53), a device (20) for producing energy from matter, the solar power plant (50) and an inverter (90), each group of consumers and electricity generation and storage units 80 being provided with a thirteenth meter (73) of electric current, voltage and angle between them,- at least one device (20) for producing energy from matter provided with a fourteenth meter (22) of electric current and voltage and with a computational control unit (21) of the device for producing energy from matter comprising a communication module to communicate with the communication module of the computational control unit (51) of the solar power plant,- at least one energy storage device (53), each energy storage device being provided with a computational control unit (55) of the energy storage device acting as a capacity meter of the energy storage device and having a communication module to communicate with the communication module of the computational control unit (51) of the solar power plant and with a tenth meter (54) of electric current and voltage of the energy storage device,- a D / A inverter (90) having a computational control unit (91) of the inverter to receive a pulse signal Up2 and convert it to a reference signal USE received by the inverter, forming a power signal from it, the pulse signal UP2serving as a reference for a phase shift of the voltage generated by the solar power plant to make a phase shift and voltage amplitude as requested by the command output by the computational control unit (41) of the first substation, the inverter being provided with an eleventh meter (92) of electric current, voltage and angle between them, and- a charger (81) connected at one side with the solar power plant (50) and the device (20) for producing energy from matter and at the other side with the energy storage device (53) and via the inverter 90 with the low-voltage network and provided with an eleventh meter (82) of electric current and voltage.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state energy storage device (1) comprises:a storage tank (2) of an aqueous zinc chloride solution,a first conduit (3) for feeding the aqueous zinc chloride solution from the storage tank (2) of aqueous zinc chloride solution to a dryer (4),a dryer (4) comprising a first heating device for drying the zinc chloride and a first temperature gauge,a second conduit (5) for feeding the dried zinc chloride from the dryer (4) to a first electrolysis device (6),a first electrolysis device (6) comprising a second heating device for heating the zinc chloride to a temperature greater than 290°C, preferably to a temperature between 310°C and 330°C, most preferably to a temperature of about 320°C, a second temperature gauge, an anode in the form of a zinc plate, and a graphite cathode,a zinc plate storage vessel (17),a mechanism for transferring the zinc plates from the first electrolysis device into the zinc plate storage vessel (17) and vice versa, a third conduit (7) for feeding chlorine from the first electrolysis device (6) to a first reactor (10), a second electrolysis device (8) comprising a fourth conduit for feeding water thereto,a fifth conduit for the discharge of oxygen from the second electrolysis device (8),a sixth conduit (9) for feeding hydrogen from the second electrolysis device to the first reactor (10),a first reactor (10) comprising an arc burner (11) for the production of hydrogen chloride,a seventh conduit (12) for feeding hydrogen chloride from the first reactor to a vessel,a vessel (13) comprising an eighth conduit for water supply, a sprayer (14) for generating water droplets and a measuring device for measuring pH values, a ninth conduit (15) having a valve for the discharge of hydrochloric acid from the vessel into the hydrochloric acid storage tank,a hydrochloric acid storage tank (16), anda first control device.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein, within the solid-state energy storage device (1), a process for solid-state energy storage is carried out, which comprises the following steps:- drying of zinc chloride in a dryer (4),- feeding the dried zinc chloride to a first electrolysis device (6),melting the zinc chloride in the first electrolysis device (6),- electrolysis of the zinc chloride to produce zinc in solid form and chlorine in gaseous form,- electrolysis of water to produce oxygen and hydrogen,- feeding chlorine and hydrogen to a first reactor (10) having an arc burner (11) to produce hydrogen chloride,- dissolving the hydrogen chloride in water to produce hydrochloric acid, - measuring the pH value of the hydrochloric acid; and- discharging the hydrochloric acid into the hydrochloric acid storage tank when the measured pH value of the hydrochloric acid is lower than the predetermined value.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the device (20) for producing energy from matter comprises:- a hydrochloric acid storage tank (16),- a tenth conduit (26) for feeding the hydrochloric acid from the hydrochloric acid storage tank (16) to a second reactor (27),- a mechanism for transferring the zinc plates from the zinc plate storage vessel (17) to the second reactor (27) and vice versa,- the second reactor (27) for reacting the zinc and hydrochloric acid,- an eleventh conduit (23) for discharging the aqueous zinc chloride solution to the storage tank (2) of aqueous zinc chloride solution,- a twelfth conduit (24) for feeding the hydrogen from the second reactor (27) to a fuel cell (25),- a fuel cell (25) for generating electricity; in- a second control device.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein, within the device (20) for producing energy from matter, a process for producing energy from matter is carried out, which comprises the following steps:- feeding zinc plates and hydrochloric acid to a second reactor (27),- reacting zinc and hydrochloric acid in the second reactor (27) to produce hydrogen and an aqueous zinc chloride solution,- discharging the aqueous zinc chloride solution to the storage tank (2) of aqueous zinc chloride solution,- feeding hydrogen and oxygen into a fuel cell (25) to generate electricity.

6. The system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the unit for communicating the voltage sine status to the solar power plants in the substation measures the sine of the voltage USR and sends its shape in the form of high-frequency signals UVF to the low-voltage side, so that a signal is present when there is a positive half-period on the medium-voltage side of the substation, and no signal is present when there is a negative half-period, wherein the unit for receiving the high-frequency signal in the solar power plants thus generates a reference needed by the processor that controls the inverters to then move its voltage according to the commands of the computational control unit (41) of the first substation.

7. An electricity distribution process comprising:- providing said system (100),- providing data on the configuration and cross-sections of the cable distribution grid,- obtaining data on measured voltages of individual cells of the energy storage device and capacities of the energy storage devices and communicating this data to the computational control unit of the solar power plant and the computational control unit of the first substation,- obtaining data on measured currents of the solar power plants and communicating this data to the computational control unit of the first substation,- providing data on locations of the solar power plants and the weather forecasts for each location,- providing data on the chemical energy stock in the matter, i.e. the amount of hydrochloric acid and zinc,- providing data on the electrical voltage, the electric current and the angle between them for all three phases of the medium voltage grid by means of the third meter (42),- wherein the computational control unit of the distribution substation, on the basis of the data obtained and on the basis of the artificial intelligence-based algorithm:o regulates the currents in the cables on the medium-voltage side of the substation so that the electric current demand of all slave substations is met and no cable of the medium- voltage network is overloaded, o on the basis of the measurements of the currents, voltages and angles between them on the medium-voltage side of the first and second substations, and of the data on the status of the electricity stocks, computes the necessary currents, voltages and angles between them for sending electricity from one of the slave first and second substations through the medium-voltage network to the other slave first and second substations,- wherein the computational control unit of the first and second substations, on the basis of the data obtained and on the basis of the artificial intelligencebased algorithm:o sees to it that the cables of the low-voltage network and the first and second substations are not overloaded,- wherein the computational control unit of the first substation further:o decides on the source from which electricity is to be obtained for supplying consumers and for transmission from the low-voltage network to the medium-voltage network, based on a request from the computational control unit of the distribution substation,o outputs commands to the servicing department to replace the emptied tanks by filled ones,o monitors the performance of solar power plants over time and, if it detects a drop in the performance under a predetermined value, outputs a command for servicing or replacing the solar panels,o monitors the performance of the energy storage devices over time and, if it detects a drop in the capacity of a particular energy storage device, outputs commands to replace the cells of the energy storage device, the capacity of which has dropped under a certain predetermined value, o decides on sending electricity from the solar power plant to the low- voltage network and to the energy storage device,- wherein the computational control unit of the second substation further:o decides on the production of electricity from the chemical energy stored in matter,- wherein the computational control unit of the solar power plant:o collects data on the operation of solar panels in time and communicates it to the computational control unit of the first substation,o collects data on the status of the cells of the energy storage device in time and communicates it to the computational control unit of the first substation,o minimises losses due to reactive energy,o controls the inverters by restoring the electrical voltage signal of the medium-voltage side of the substation from the high-frequency signalssent to the substation and, according to this signal, generates the electrical voltage on the low-voltage network so that the electrical voltage is shifted with respect to the voltage on the medium- voltage side by an angle as required by the computational control unit of the substation which also determines the amount of electrical voltage generated by the inverter.

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