The patent will be the underlying technology of the new Beacon Power SmartLink system, which the company believes may be used in a broad range of existing and future distributed generation (DG) applications.
The patent describes ‘Methods and Systems for Intentionally Isolating Distributed Power Generation Sources’.
Beacon’s invention applies to the use of energy storage of any kind, and automatically allows DG resources to continue operating when the main power grid fails.
Currently, the majority of DG resources turn off automatically when the grid fails, and in contrast, when the grid fails Beacon’s invention immediately creates a DG-powered microgrid, stabilized by energy storage, which continues to operate without support from the primary grid.
The Beacon Power SmartLink system may be useful whenever grid instability occurs during an outage or in support of a broad range of customer markets and applications.
DG is considered a smart grid enabler because it places generation closer to the consumers of energy, or loads, allowing greater control, reliability, efficiency and self-reliance.
