Distributed Generation Credit Aggregation for Community Financing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Small-scale renewable energy projects lack the scale and financial viability to attract financing, and traditional renewable energy credits lack tangible community impact, disproportionately affecting low-income communities.
Innovation Solution
The Social Equity Renewable Energy Credit (SEREDG) system aggregates small-scale renewable energy sources, vets and finances suitable sites, and creates a unique energy attribute product (Social/Equity Renewable Energy Credits) that reflects community impact and environmental value, facilitating financing and marketing opportunities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If small-scale renewable energy projects are implemented, then community impact and environmental value are improved, but financial viability and economic feasibility deteriorate due to lack of scale
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple small-scale renewable energy projects into aggregated portfolios, merging their individual outputs to achieve scale economies. By pooling resources and consolidating projects, the system enables small-scale generators to collectively access financing and marketing opportunities that were previously only available to large-scale utility projects, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining small-scale community impact and achieving financial viability through aggregation.
2Loss of information
If traditional renewable energy credits are used, then energy generation is tracked, but tangible community impact is lost due to lack of traceability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism through the SEREDG system that continuously tracks and reports the flow of energy from specific small-scale generation projects to end consumers. This real-time feedback loop provides verifiable community impact data, allowing purchasers to confirm the tangible benefits of their energy purchases while maintaining accurate credit tracking without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The SEREDG system acts as an intermediary platform between small-scale renewable generators and energy purchasers. This intermediary maintains detailed tracking records that provide transparency and traceability of community impact, bridging the information gap between local generation projects and distant consumers while simplifying the complexity through a centralized coordination mechanism.
3Productivity
If small-scale renewables are connected to the grid, then distributed energy benefits are achieved, but aggregation and coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the aggregation process into distinct functional modules: project identification, portfolio assembly, financing coordination, and energy tracking. By dividing the complex aggregation task into manageable segments, each handled by specific system components, the patent reduces overall coordination complexity while maintaining the ability to aggregate distributed energy resources effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for energy social equity allocation using at least one memory, and at least one processor configured to issue a plurality of processor-executable instructions to obtain an energy equity participation request data structure for the benefit of an underserved community, a site data structure from an energy production site, and a purchaser request data structure from an energy consumption site. The system and method further aggregate low amounts of energy generation from multiple sites into a larger saleable quantity for a purchaser and manages the transfer of power over an electrical grid. Payment for the energy is used to provide community apportionment values to requesting communities.