Patent ID: 11870261
Assignee: POWER ENGINEERS, INCORPORATED
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  Y | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A method comprising:
providing two or more energy generation facilities, each of the two or more energy generation facilities including an energy generation facility control unit for controlling the energy generation sources that are associated with that energy generation facility to provide a desired electrical energy output from that energy generation facility;
providing a power transmission system;
providing Points Of Interconnection (POIs) for each of the two or more energy generation facilities to the power transmission system;
providing two or more energy generation facility output monitoring lines for collecting energy generation facility output data from each of the two or more energy generation facilities at their respective POIs, the energy generation facility output data including data indicating the output voltage of each of the two or more energy generation facilities at their respective POIs;
providing at least one Point of Utilization (POU);
providing a POU monitoring line for collecting POU data from at least one POU, the POU data including data indicating the voltage of at least one POU;
providing two or more control signal lines for relaying control signals to each of the respective energy generation facility control units for each of the two or more energy generation facilities, the control signals including output voltage control signals for each of the two or more energy generation facility;
providing a Master Grid Controller (MGC), the MGC controller being a dedicated MGC for the two or more energy generation facilities that is separate and distinct from the respective energy generation facility control units of each of the two or more energy generation facilities, the MGC controller providing control signals to the respective energy generation facility control units of the two or more energy generation facilities;
operatively coupling the two or more energy generation facility output monitoring lines to the MGC;
operatively coupling the POU monitoring line to the MGC;
using the MGC to monitor and analyze the POU data to determine if a voltage of at least one POU is within a desired POU voltage band,
generating control signals to be sent to each of the two or more energy generation facilities via the two or more control signal lines if the MGC determines the voltage of at least one POU is not within the desired POU voltage band, the control signals being used to adjust voltage control set points of each of the two or more energy generation facilities at their respective POIs in a manner necessary to bring the voltage of at least one POU into the desired POU voltage band;
using the MGC to monitor and compare the energy generation facility output data of each energy generation facility at the POI of each energy generation facility to identify where reactive power is being exchanged between any of the two or more energy generation facilities;
generating control signals to be sent to the respective energy generation facility control units of the identified energy generation facilities via the two or more control signal lines if reactive power is being exchanged between any of the two or more energy generation facilities is identified, the control signals being used to reduce the exchanged reactive power and to balance the reactive power produced between each of the two or more energy generation facilities;
sending the control signals to the respective energy generation facility control units of the two or more energy generation facilities; and
using the control signals and the respective energy generation facility control units of the two or more energy generation facilities to control energy generation sources and output voltages of the two or more energy generation facilities.