Renewable energy credit management system and method for use with electric vehicles
Systems and methods for tracking and managing the transfer of renewable energy and credits associated with the renewable energy are disclosed, particularly in the context of a V2G framework. A server may receive information about an electric vehicle's charging and discharging states. When the electric vehicle is known to have obtained a charge from a renewable source, the transfer of any energy associated with that charge to a recipient may also trigger the transfer of renewable energy credits (RECs) to the recipient. The server maintains an accounting of the movement of RECs, and may also facilitate compensation to electric vehicle owners for their return of clean energy to a third party.
1 . A method for tracking a first amount of renewable energy in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) energy management system, the method comprising:
receiving, at a server, first registration information for a first electric vehicle and creating a first account based on the first registration information, the first registration information including a unique identifier for the first electric vehicle, a network address and communication information for enabling transmissions of data from an electronic control unit (ECU) of the first electric vehicle;
receiving, at the server, second registration information for a first consumer and creating a second account based on the second registration information, the second registration information including a location of the first consumer;
receiving, at the server via wireless transmission from the ECU of the first electric vehicle, first electric charging information indicating that the first electric vehicle has, at a first time, obtained a charge from a renewable energy source, the first electric charging information including a source identifier for the renewable energy source, and a first state of charge (SOC) value of a battery of the first electric vehicle after charging, and storing, at the server, a record for the first electric vehicle associating the renewable energy source with the charge, and the source identifier with the first SOC value;
automatically detecting, at the server, at a second time after the first time, initiation of a discharge event when the ECU of the first electric vehicle establishes a communication session and a signal is automatically transmitted to the server upon the first electric vehicle is connected to a first energy transfer station;
receiving, at the server via the communication session, a second SOC value from the ECU of the first electric vehicle at initiation of the discharge event and a third SOC value from the ECU at conclusion of the discharge event:
receiving, at the server from the ECU, geolocation data from the first electric vehicle during the discharge event;
automatically determining, by the server, that the geolocation data from the first electric vehicle correspond to the location of the first consumer, thereby identifying the first consumer as a recipient of the discharge event;
determining, at the server, a first amount of renewable energy discharged based on a difference between the second SOC value and the third SOC value;
automatically correlating, by the server, the first amount of renewable energy discharged with the stored record for the first electric vehicle associating the renewable energy source with the charge of the first SOC value, to verify the first amount of renewable energy was sourced from the renewable energy source;
determining, at the server, that the first amount of renewable energy corresponds to a first number of renewable energy credits (RECs) based on the verified sourcing; and
automatically transferring, from the first account to the second account, the first number of renewable energy credits (RECs).
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, at the server, second electric charging information for the first electric vehicle indicating the first electric vehicle has, at a third time, obtained a charge from a second renewable energy source; and
allocating a second number of renewable energy credits to the first account based on the second electric charging information.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
automatically debiting, via the server, a first payment amount from the second account; and
automatically crediting, via the server the first payment amount to the first account.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first payment amount corresponds to an electric charge cost for the first amount of renewable energy.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first payment amount corresponds to a cost associated with the first number of RECs.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first consumer is a utility company, and the first energy transfer station is configured to return energy to an electric grid managed by the utility company.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, at the server, second electric charging information for the first electric vehicle indicating the first electric vehicle had, at a third time earlier than the first time, obtained a charge from a second renewable energy source.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
automatically generating, at the server, a record for an energy regulatory authority that certifies the first amount of renewable energy discharged from the first electric vehicle to the first consumer was sourced from the renewable energy source.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the first consumer is a utility company, and the first energy transfer station is configured to return energy to an electric grid managed by the utility company.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising automatically generating a request for payment from the utility company to an account associated with the first electric vehicle.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first energy transfer station is configured to supply energy directly to a building associated with the first consumer.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically initiating, at the server, on behalf of the first consumer, a first payment amount to an account associated with the first electric vehicle for an attribute of renewability associated with the first amount of renewable energy.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first payment amount is calculated based on the first number of RECs.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising automatically initiating, at the server, and on behalf of the first consumer, a second payment amount to the account associated with the first electric vehicle for the electricity provided by the first amount of renewable energy.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, in response to the verified sourcing, automatically issuing, by the server, a compensatory token to an account associated with the first electric vehicle, the compensatory token reflecting the renewable energy source of the first amount of renewable energy discharged.
16 . A system for tracking a first amount of renewable energy in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) energy management system, the system comprising a processor and machine-readable media including instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive, at a server, first registration information for a first electric vehicle and creating a first account based on the first registration information, the first registration information including a unique identifier for the first electric vehicle, a network address and communication information for enabling transmissions of data from an electronic control unit (ECU) of the first electric vehicle;
receive, at the server, second registration information for a first consumer and creating a second account based on the second registration information, the second registration information including a location of the first consumer;
receive, at the server via wireless transmission from the ECU of the first electric vehicle, first electric charging information indicating that the first electric vehicle has, at a first time, obtained a charge from a renewable energy source, the first electric charging information including a source identifier for the renewable energy source, and a first state of charge (SOC) value of a battery of the first electric vehicle after charging, and storing, at the server, a record for the first electric vehicle associating the renewable energy source with the charge, and the source identifier with the first SOC value;
automatically detect, at the server, at a second time after the first time, initiation of a discharge event when the ECU of the first electric vehicle establishes a communication session and a signal is automatically transmitted to the server upon the first electric vehicle is connected to a first energy transfer station;
receive, at the server via the communication session, a second SOC value from the ECU of the first electric vehicle at initiation of the discharge event and a third SOC value from the ECU at conclusion of the discharge event:
receive, at the server from the ECU, geolocation data from the first electric vehicle during the discharge event;
automatically determine, by the server, that the geolocation data from the first electric vehicle correspond to the location of the first consumer, thereby identifying the first consumer as a recipient of the discharge event;
determine, at the server, a first amount of renewable energy discharged based on a difference between the second SOC value and the third SOC value;
automatically correlate, by the server, the first amount of renewable energy discharged with the stored record for the first electric vehicle associating the renewable energy source with the charge of the first SOC value, to verify the first amount of renewable energy was sourced from the renewable energy source;
determine, at the server, that the first amount of renewable energy corresponds to a first number of renewable energy credits (RECs) based on the verified sourcing; and
automatically transfer, from the first account to the second account, the first number of renewable energy credits (RECs).
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
receive, at the server, second electric charging information for the first electric vehicle indicating the first electric vehicle has, at a third time, obtained a charge from a second renewable energy source; and
allocate a second number of renewable energy credits to the first account based on the second electric charging information.
18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
automatically debit, via the server, a first payment amount from the second account; and
automatically credit, via the server the first payment amount to the first account.
19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the first payment amount corresponds to an electric charge cost for the first amount of renewable energy.
20 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the first payment amount corresponds to a cost associated with the first number of RECs.