Photovoltaic system with managed output

Abstract

Photovoltaic systems with managed output and methods for managing variability of output from photovoltaic systems are described. A system includes a photovoltaic module configured to receive and convert solar energy to DC power. The system also includes a sensor configured to detect a future change in solar energy to be received by the photovoltaic module. The system further includes a power conditioning unit coupled with the photovoltaic module and the sensor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A photovoltaic system with managed output, the system comprising:
 a photovoltaic module configured to receive solar energy and convert the solar energy to DC power;   a sensor configured to detect a future change in solar energy to be received by the photovoltaic module, the sensor comprising a pair of modules, each module configured to detect an amount of solar energy at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module; and   a power conditioning unit coupled with the photovoltaic module and the sensor, wherein the power conditioning unit is configured to condition the DC power from the photovoltaic module and to output an amount of conditioned DC power based on the future change in solar energy, and wherein the power conditioning unit controls the output before and after the future change in solar energy occurs to output the same amount of conditioned DC power before and after the future change in solar energy occurs.   
     
     
         2 . The photovoltaic system of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of modules is configured to provide a delta in the amount of solar energy detected by the pair of modules at the unique distances. 
     
     
         3 . The photovoltaic system of  claim 2 , wherein the delta in the amount of solar energy includes a difference in the amount of solar energy detected at a first module subtracted from the amount of solar energy detected at a second module. 
     
     
         4 . The photovoltaic system of  claim 3 , wherein the delta in the amount of solar energy detected by the pair of modules is correlated with the unique distances from the photovoltaic module. 
     
     
         5 . The photovoltaic system of  claim 4 , wherein the amount of conditioned DC power is a maximum amount of power the photovoltaic module is expected to be capable of generating after the future change in solar energy occurs, and wherein the amount of conditioned DC power is less than an amount of power the photovoltaic module is capable of generating before the future change in solar energy occurs. 
     
     
         6 . The photovoltaic system of  claim 2 , wherein the sensor further comprises one or more additional modules, each additional module positioned at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module. 
     
     
         7 . The photovoltaic system of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a secondary sensor coupled with the sensor, the secondary sensor selected from the group consisting of an anemometer, a wind vane, a satellite data source, and a temperature sensor.   
     
     
         8 . The photovoltaic system of  claim 2 , wherein the power condition unit is configured to control an efficiency of the photovoltaic module, wherein the power conditioning unit is an inverter configured to invert the DC power from the photovoltaic module to AC power, and wherein the inverter is configured to modify AC power output from the inverter based on the future change in solar energy. 
     
     
         9 . A method for managing variability of output from a photovoltaic system, the method comprising:
 detecting a future change in solar energy to be received by a photovoltaic module, the detecting performed by a sensor comprising a pair of modules, each module configured to detect an amount of solar energy at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module;   conditioning DC power from the photovoltaic module, wherein the DC power is converted from solar energy; and   outputting, from the photovoltaic system, an amount of conditioned DC power based on the future change in solar energy, wherein an output of the photovoltaic system is controlled before and after the future change in solar energy occurs to output the same amount of conditioned DC power before and after the future change in solar energy occurs.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the pair of modules is configured to provide a delta in the amount of solar energy detected by the pair of modules at the unique distances. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising determining the delta in the amount of solar energy, wherein the delta in the amount of solar energy includes a difference in the amount of solar energy detected at a first module subtracted from the amount of solar energy detected at a second module. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising correlating the delta in the amount of solar energy detected by the pair of modules with the unique distances from the photovoltaic module. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the amount of conditioned DC power is a maximum amount of power the photovoltaic module is expected to be capable of generating after the future change in solar energy occurs, and wherein the amount of conditioned DC power is less than an amount of power the photovoltaic module is capable of generating before the future change in solar energy occurs. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the sensor further comprises one or more additional modules, each additional module positioned at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium having instructions stored thereon which cause a data processing system to perform a method for managing variability of output from a photovoltaic system, the method comprising:
 detecting a future change in solar energy to be received by a photovoltaic module, the detecting performed by a sensor comprising a pair of modules, each module configured to detect an amount of solar energy at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module;   conditioning DC power from the photovoltaic module, wherein the DC power is converted from solar energy; and   outputting, from the photovoltaic system, an amount of conditioned DC power based on the future change in solar energy, wherein an output of the photovoltaic system is controlled before and after the future change in solar energy occurs to output the same amount of conditioned DC power before and after the future change in solar energy occurs.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the pair of modules is configured to provide a delta in the amount of solar energy detected by the pair of modules at the unique distances. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises determining the delta in the amount of solar energy, wherein the delta in the amount of solar energy includes a difference in the amount of solar energy detected at a first module subtracted from the amount of solar energy detected at a second module. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises correlating the delta in the amount of solar energy detected by the pair of modules with the unique distances from the photovoltaic module. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the amount of conditioned DC power is a maximum amount of power the photovoltaic module is expected to be capable of generating after the future change in solar energy occurs, and wherein the amount of conditioned DC power is less than an amount of power the photovoltaic module is capable of generating before the future change in solar energy occurs. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the sensor further comprises one or more additional modules, each additional module positioned at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module.