Patent Publication Number: US-2019199128-A1

Title: Mobile electric power genera ting and conditioning system

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of power-generation systems. In particular, the present disclosure relates to the field of mobile power generation and conditioning systems. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Providing power to remote locations that are too far from a utility transmission or distribution grid often requires a power-generating system. Typical power-generating systems that are used at such remote locations include a mechanism for harnessing energy and converting it into useable electric power, a controller and one or more batteries. Solar panels and wind or water turbines are examples of some common harnessing mechanisms. The batteries store the electric power and can provide it to one or more devices that require electric power to operate. Once the batteries are fully charged, the conversion to useable electric power is typically discontinued to prevent damage to the batteries. 
     Some very remote areas do not have access to a road and the power-generating system must be transported in by people or animals. The batteries used in the power-generating systems are typically heavy and difficult to transport to these very remote areas. The product lifecycle of the batteries that are typically used in power-generating systems may also pose an environmental risk. Furthermore, once a battery is no longer operational it must be transported away from the very remote area for disposal, which also can be difficult. 
     SUMMARY 
     The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a power-conditioning system. The system comprises an energy-capturing assembly and a power conditioner. The energy-capturing assembly converts captured energy, such as mechanical captured energy, chemical captured energy or other forms of captured energy, into an electric-power input for the power conditioner. The power conditioner comprises an input terminal, a primary-output terminal, a controller and a secondary-output terminal. The power conditioner receives the electrical power input and delivers a conditioned electrical-power output. The primary-output terminal is configured to receive and transfer part or all of the conditioner output to a primary load. A controller, for example a SCADA controller, regulates the transfer of an un-transferred portion of the conditioner output to the secondary-output terminal so that an aggregated draw from the first-output terminal and the second-output terminal is less than or equal to the conditioner output. The secondary-output terminal is configured to transfer the un-transferred portion of the electrical-power input to a secondary load. 
     The power-conditioning system of the present disclosure is mobile and portable by able-bodied people and animals. In other words, the power-conditioning system is light enough that it does not require a motorized vehicle for transport. The portability of the system allows it to be transported to and set up in remote areas where there is restricted or no access to a utility transmission or distribution grid. Very remote areas also generally do not have road access. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the energy-capturing assembly is a water turbine that can be placed in flowing water to provide the electric power output for 24 hours a day. The electric-power output may be a variable voltage that is conditioned by the power conditioner into a constant-voltage output within a voltage range that is typical of a battery power source. The power conditioner can provide a constant-voltage power source to meet the power requirements of the primary load, thus replacing the need for a battery, while directing any additional power available on either the input terminal or the primary-output terminal to the secondary output terminal, thus emulating the accumulator properties of a battery. Since the power conditioner can emulate the power source and accumulator properties of a battery, a battery need not be included in the total weight of equipment that will be transported as part of the power-conditioning system. Avoiding the use of a battery may also reduce or mitigate the known negative environmental-impact associated with using and/or, disposing of batteries. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure the power-conditioning system may emulate a battery insofar as the power-conditioning system is compatible with an energy-capturing assembly and one or more primary loads. In some embodiments of the present disclosure the one or more primary loads may be one or more inverters, pumps or combinations thereof. This compatibility is achieved through conditioning of the electrical power created via the energy-capturing assembly. For example the conditioning may occur via voltage selection or other methods. In some embodiments of the present disclosure the power-conditioning system may exceed the capabilities of a typical battery because the power-conditioning system may act as a power sink. When there is energy available that is in excess of the requirements of the primary load, the power sink properties may be accomplished through the use of one or more further loads, such as: water heaters to preheat water for drinking, bathing, cooking or other uses; one or more pumps to pump water into a water tower so that the potential and kinetic energy of the stored water can be extracted through a turbine at a later point in time; or an air compressor to compress air into a containment vessel. Each of these non-limiting examples of how the power-conditioning system may act as a power sink allow storage of energy for a later point in time. These alternative methods of storing energy have the advantage over batteries of being: a) environmentally friendly; b) of greater capacity, which may be considered virtually infinite for small-scaled systems; and c) of simple implementation and low cost. By implementing an energy storage system that can be approximated as infinite, this device accomplishes maximum power-point tracking until the cumulative input power reaches power rating and/or the power specifications of the power-conditioning system. That is, the power-conditioning system may ensure that all available power is being consumed by all connected loads. This cannot be practically accomplished through batteries because the cost of batteries may be prohibitively high. The power-conditioning system may also provide the ability to accomplish practical energy-storage without the introduction of potentially damaging chemicals, as may occur with batteries. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features of the present disclosure will become more apparent in the following detailed description in which reference is made to the appended drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an example of a power-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of circuitry for another example of a power-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an example of a power conditioner for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of an example of a power conditioner, as in  FIG. 2 , with separate input and output converters; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of circuitry for an example of an input inverter for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of circuitry for an example of an input-inverter controller for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of circuitry for an example of an input inverter driver for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram circuitry for a three-phase instrumentation board for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of an output converter for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of an output rectifier for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of an output inverter for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of an instrument board for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram of another example of a power-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of a high-voltage auxiliary power supply for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of an alternating current (AC) auxiliary-power supply inverter for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an auxiliary power supply instrument board for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of a battery management converter for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 18  is a schematic diagram circuitry for an example of a switch component for use with the system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 19  is a schematic diagram of another example of a power-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a power-conditioning system that comprises an energy-capturing assembly and a power conditioner that is capable of capturing energy from an energy source. The energy-capturing assembly converts the captured energy into an electric-power input. The electric-power input is transferred into a power conditioner. The power conditioner conditions the electric-power input into a form of electric energy that is usable by loads that otherwise would be powered by batteries. The useable form of electric power is transferred to at least a primary load and a secondary load. The primary load will have higher priority of access to the useable form of electric power so that the primary load&#39;s power requirements are met. The power conditioner may include a controller that regulates the transfer of the useable form of electric power to the secondary load. The controller ensures that an aggregated power draw from both the primary load and the secondary load can meet but not exceed the total amount of power available from the electric-power input. 
     Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. 
     As used herein, the term “about” refers to a variation from a given value within an approximate range of about +/−10%. It is to be understood that such a variation is always included in any given value provided herein, whether or not it is specifically referred to. 
     As used herein, the term “electric power” refers to the rate at which electric energy is transferred through the one or more circuits; however, depending upon the context of use the terms “electric power” and “power” may also be used herein to refer to the electric energy that is being transferred within the power-conditioning system and to one or more loads that are electrically connected to the power-conditioning system. 
     As used herein, the term “power conditioning” refers to a process for modulating and/or distributing electric energy to match a load&#39;s preferred characteristics of voltage level, current level, current type, frequency and quality. 
     As used herein, the term “power conditioner” refers to a device that performs at least part of the power conditioning process. 
     As used herein, the terms “transfer”, “transferred” and “transferring” refer to the movement of electric energy from one part of the power-conditioning system to another. This movement of electric energy may occur by conduction, non-radiative power transfer techniques or radiative power transfer techniques. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by reference to  FIG. 1  through to  FIG. 19 , which show representative embodiments of a power-conditioning system  10  according to the present disclosure. 
       FIG. 1  depicts one embodiment of the present disclosure that relates to the power-conditioning system  10 . The power-conditioning system  10  comprises an energy-capturing assembly  12  and a power conditioner  14  that is electrically connectible to a primary load  16  and a secondary load  18 . 
     The energy-capturing assembly  12  captures energy from an energy source  20 . The energy source  20  may provide non-electrical energy, such as chemical energy, solar energy, or potential energy and kinetic energy from a flowing fluid. In one embodiment of the present disclosure the energy-capturing assembly  12  is one or more solar panels for capturing solar energy and the energy source  20  is the sun. In another embodiment of the present disclosure the energy-capturing assembly  12  includes a turbine and an associated generator for capturing energy from a flowing fluid. If the energy source  20  is a flowing gas, such as wind, then the turbine is a wind turbine. If the energy source  20  is a flowing liquid, such as water, then the turbine is a water turbine. The turbine converts the kinetic potential energy of the flowing fluid into mechanical work. The associated generator may be an electric generator that converts the mechanical work of the rotating turbine into electrical energy. The energy-capturing assembly  12  may also be referred to herein as an electrical-generating assembly. 
     The energy-capturing assembly  12  converts the captured energy into a useable form of electric energy that is referred to herein as an electric-power input  22 . The electric-power input  22  may be an alternating current (AC) or a direct current (DC) that is of a substantially constant voltage (V), a substantially variable voltage, a substantially constant current (A) or a variable current. In one embodiment of the present disclosure the electric-power input  22  may be within a power range of about 10 watts (W) to about a megawatt. In another embodiment of the present disclosure the energy-capturing assembly  12  may produce the electric-power input  22  within a power range of between about 5 kilowatts (KW) and about 100 KW. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the energy-capturing assembly  12  may produce the electrical-power input  22  up to 5 kilowatts (kW). 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the electric-power input  22  is a nominal voltage of about 100 VAC to about 300 VAC root mean square (rms) open-circuit, line-to-line three phase output at a frequency of about 10 Hertz (Hz) to about 30 Hz. The open circuit voltage may be proportional to the frequency. In the embodiments of the energy-capturing assembly  12  that comprise a turbine and associated generator, the impedance from the associated generator may have low resistive and inductive properties. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the impedance of the associated generator may have a resistive property measured between about 0.01 Ohms to about 0.1 Ohms and an inductive property measured between about 1 milli henry (mH) to about 10 mH. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the impedance of the associated generator may be relatively higher, for example between about 1.5 Ohms and about 2.5 Ohms resistive with an inductive property measured between about 100 mH and about 200 mH. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the associated generator has a resistive property of 2 Ohms and an inductive property of about 140 mH. 
     The electric-power input  22  is transferred to the power conditioner  14 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the power conditioner may comprise an input terminal  24 , a power converter  26 , a supervisory control and acquisition system (SCADA) controller  28  (as discussed further below), the primary-output terminal  30  and the secondary output terminal  32 . In some embodiments of the present disclosure the SCADA controller  28  has a display and one or more user-accessible input ports and output ports. 
     The power conditioner  14  includes the input terminal  24  for receiving and transferring the electric-power input  22  to the power converter  26 . The power converter  26  conditions the transferred electric-power input  22  into a conditioner electric power output  34 , which may also be referred to herein as the conditioner output  34 . The power converter  26  may comprise various components that are selected from a group consisting of a DC to DC converter, DC to DC transformer, a DC to DC voltage regulator, a DC to DC linear regulator, a DC to AC inverter, an AC to DC rectifier, an AC to AC converter, an AC to AC voltage regulator or an AC to AC transformer, depending on whether the electric-power input  22  is an AC input or a DC input. Depending upon the specific components of the power converter  26 , the conditioner output  34  may be a substantially constant voltage, a substantially variable voltage, a substantially constant current or a substantially variable current. The conditioner output  34  provides conditioned electric energy that meets the operational requirements, characteristics or preferences of any loads that are electrically connected to the power-conditioning system  10 , for example the primary load  16  and the secondary load  18 . The primary load  16  and the secondary load  18  may have the same operational requirements or preferences, or not. For example, the primary load  16  may receive a DC primary output in the range of a typical battery source and the secondary load  18  may receive an AC secondary output. In this example, the secondary load  18  may be operated as a switched on/off load. 
     When the power-conditioning system  10  is operating the power conditioner  14  may present capacitive impedance at the input terminal  24  that is proportional to the inductive impedance of the associated generator. This may avoid an excessive voltage drop if the inductive impedance of the associated generator is high, which is important if nominal electrical energy is going to be conditioned and transferred to the electrically connected loads  16 ,  18 . In embodiments of the present disclosure that do not include the associated generator, the power conditioner  14  may not present a capacitive impedance at the input terminal  24 . 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, real power available in the electric-power input  22  may vary according to the cube law with two transfer speeds from about 625 watts (W) at about 150 VAC to about 5 kilowatts (KW) at about 300 VAC. In other embodiments of the present disclosure the real power available in the electric-power input  22  may be higher. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure a voltage offload may be available in the range of 0 to 400 V, line-to-line. The voltage offload may avoid damage or degradation of internal components of the conditioner system  14  if the electric-power input  22  of the capturing assembly  12  exceeds a safe or non-damaging limit. Optionally, the input current shall be monitored and actively regulated so that it does not exceed 10 A per line, as discussed further below. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the power converter  26  is a DC to DC converter that converts the electric-power input  22  from a variable voltage DC to a constant voltage DC conditioner output  34 . In this embodiment, the power converter  26  may further comprise a switch assembly for facilitating conversion of the variable voltage DC electric-power input  22  to the constant voltage DC conditioner output  34 . 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the power converter  26  may comprise one or more input converters  26 A and one or more output converters  26 B, an example is shown in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 4  provides another schematic of an example of circuitry of one embodiment of the power conditioner  14  where the power converter  26  is comprised of an input converter and two output converters. The input converter  26 A may comprise an input inverter  27  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) that converts a DC electric-power input  22  into an AC output or an AC input into a DC output, which is also referred to herein as a DC link voltage.  FIG. 5  shows one example schematic of the input inverter  27  that comprises an input-inverter controller  27 B ( FIG. 6 ) and an input inverter driver  27 A ( FIG. 7 ). 
     The input-inverter controller  27 B may regulate the input converter  26 A. The input-inverter controller  27 B may be an analogue or digital microcontroller. The input-inverter controller  27 B controls the power correction of the input converter  26 A and a 3-phase rectifier. As discussed further below, the SCADA controller  28  controls the input-inverter controller  27 B and the transfer of the conditioner output  24  to the primary load  16 , which transfer may be referred to herein as the primary output  36 , and the transfer of the conditioner output  24  to the secondary load  18 , which transfer may be referred to herein as the secondary output  38 . 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure the requirements of the input converter  26 A may be too complex and sophisticated to be implemented with an analog controller. For example in embodiments where the power-conditioning system  10  uses a turbine as the energy-capturing apparatus  20 , this complexity may arise due to the input converter  26 A regulating a DC link voltage and it must also sense the rotational speed of the energy-capturing assembly&#39;s  20  turbine. In other embodiments of the present disclosure that utilize, for example, a solar panel as the energy capturing apparatus  12  the input converter  26 A may limit the power draw to remain within the power output capability of the energy-capturing assembly  12 . Further, the input converter  26 A may present a substantial capacitive load to the associated generator of the energy-capturing assembly  12  to compensate for the high inductance of the associated generator&#39;s windings, and the input converter  26 A must react as the associated generator speed changes and as the power requirements of the primary and secondary loads  16 ,  18  change. Hence the input converter  26 A requires independent control of three variables simultaneously: the DC link voltage, the real input-power, and the reactive input-power. To meet these requirements an all-digital input-inverter controller  27 B may be useful. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the input converter  26 A comprises sensors for detecting and measuring one or more of the following electric characteristics: input voltage, input current, input frequency from the associated generator, output voltage and output current.  FIG. 8  shows an example of a schematic of the circuitry associated with these sensors in the form of an input converter instrumentation panel that gathers information from a 3-phase bus. 
     In order to reduce the overall weight of the power conditioner  14  the switching frequency of the input converter  26 A may be as high as possible. To this end, the control algorithm of the input-inverter controller  27 B may iterate at a minimum of 100,000 cycles per second. In one aspect, the input converter controller  27 B may be a dual-core ARM® processor with a clock speed of 1 GHz, with a Gigabyte (GB) of fast DDR memory (ARM® is a registered trademark of ARM Holdings, Cambridge, UK) such as that used in an Olimex A20 processor board. This processor board has no peripherals connected, except for an analogue-to-digital converter used to sample the input currents and the DC link voltage at an iteration rate of the input-inverter controller  27 B. An interface connects to the processor board via its GPIO2 connector. The interface may also connect the input-inverter controller  27 B to the SCADA controller  28 , which is discussed further below. The interface provides low-rate data from the SCADA controller  28  on the input voltages, and will set the targets for the input-inverter controller  27 B to achieve. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , the output converter  26 B may comprise an output inverter  31  and an output rectifier  29 .  FIG. 10  shows one example of a schematic of the rectifier  29  and  FIG. 11  shows one example schematic of the inverter  31  as well as an output inverter controller  52 . In one embodiment of the output converter  26 B the output converter  26 B must provide a variable output voltage through pulse width modulation (PWM) in order to substantially infinitely or flexibly vary the output power. To meet these parameters an all-digital output inverter controller  52  is useful. For the sake of modularity, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the output-inverter controller  52  may consist of the same processor as the input-inverter controller  27 B. In one embodiment of the present disclosure the input converter  26 A converts an AC power input  22  to a DC bus and an output converter  26 B converters the DC bus to a DC power output  34 . In order for both the input-inverter controller  27 B and the output converter controller  52  to accurately convert their respective inputs to their respective outputs as well as maintaining safe operating temperatures, it is necessary to measure the voltage and current characteristics of their respective inputs and outputs and switching component temperatures. One example of an instrument board that can be used for measuring these required parameters is instrument board  100  (see  FIG. 12 ). Additionally, this instrument board  100  is used to relay measured parameters to the SCADA controller  28  to enable informed power flow control for the overall power conditioner  14 . 
     The primary-output terminal  30  drives the transfer of the primary output  36  to the primary load  16  based upon the power draw or power requirements of the primary load  16 . In one embodiment of the present disclosure the controller  28  permits the primary-output terminal  30  to draw the total amount of electric energy within the conditioner output  34 . In another embodiment, the primary-output terminal  30  has access to the total amount of electric energy within the conditioner output  34  without any control from the controller  28 . 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the primary output  36  is substantially constant at about 50 V up to about 100 A. Alternatively, the primary output  36  may be selectable from about 12.5 V, about 25V or about 50 V with a maximum current of about 100 A for all voltage ranges. 
     In the event that the power draw of the primary load  16  is less than the amount of electric energy within the conditioner output  34 , the SCADA controller  28  may transfer at least some of the conditioner output  34  to the secondary output terminal  32 . The secondary output terminal  32  transfers that electric energy to the secondary load  16  in the form of the secondary output  38 . The controller  28  may limit the total amount of electric energy that is transferred via the secondary output  38  to ensure that the sum of both the primary output  36  and the secondary output  38  is equal to or less than the total amount of power within the conditioner output  34 . In other words, an aggregate amount of electric energy that is drawn by the first and second output terminals  30 ,  32  will not exceed the total amount of electric energy available from the conditioner output  34 . This is achieved by the controller  28  limiting the amount of electric energy that is transferred to the secondary output terminal  32  while the amount of the conditioner output  34  that is transferred to the first output terminal  30  is based upon the power draw of the primary load  16 . 
     The combination of the power converter  26 , in particular a DC to DC converter or an AC to DC rectifier, and the ability of the SCADA controller  28  to direct excess electrical energy from the conditioner output  34  to the secondary output terminal  32  allows the power conditioner  14  to act as both a power source and a power sink. In this fashion, the power conditioner  14  may be said to mimic or emulate a battery or a bank of multiple batteries, which are collectively referred to herein as a battery. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure the aggregate power output from the first and second outputs  36 ,  38  may not exceed about 5 KW with an aggregate current output not exceeding 100 A. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure the primary output  36  may be selected to provide electric energy within a range that would typically be provided by a battery. Optionally, the second output  38  may also be selected to provide electric energy within a range that would typically be provided by a battery. The power conditioner  14  provides electric energy to any electrically connected load that could otherwise be provided by a battery. As described above, the power conditioner  14  can act as both an electric energy source and sink, which, in conjunction with the selected ranges of at least the primary output  36 , alleviates the requirement of incorporating a battery within the power-conditioning system  10 . 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the power-conditioning system  10  may comprise more than just the primary and secondary loads  16 ,  18  (see  FIG. 13 ). For example, the power-conditioning system  10  may include a third load  17  that is electrically connected in parallel with the primary load  16  to receive a portion of the electric energy within the primary output  36 . Optionally, the third load  17  may be an electric energy accumulator, such as a battery, that can store any excess amount of electric energy within the conditioner output  34  but that is not directed towards any other load that is actively using the electric energy. When the battery is being charged it may provide additional short-term power consumption in the event of an excess of electric energy is available from the conditioner output  34 . If multiple batteries are connected in parallel with the primary load  16 , the batteries will be similar in type and state of charge. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the power conditioner  14  further comprises a battery management terminal  400  that has the capability to charge batteries with a nominal voltage, for example lead-acid batteries, nickel-based batteries or lithium-based batteries (see  FIG. 14 ). For example these batteries may have a voltage of about 12 V, 24 V or 48 V. The power conditioner  14  may provide voltage to the battery management terminal  400  in the ranges of about 10.5 V to about 14.5 V, about 21 V to about 29 V and about 42 V to about 58 V, respectively. The battery management terminal  400  may comprise circuitry that prevents any battery that is electrically connected to the battery management terminal  400  from overcharging. The battery management terminal  400  will also prevent over discharge of an electrically connected battery. If a charged battery is electrically connected to the battery management terminal  400  and if the electric-power input  22  is insufficient to meet the demands of the primary load  16 , the connected battery can provide power to the primary terminal  16 . The battery management terminal  400  may or may not be electrically connected to the secondary output terminal  32  and, therefore, a connected and charged battery may or may not provide electric energy to the secondary load  18  through the battery management terminal  400 . In one embodiment of the present disclosure the power-conditioning system  10  may include the SCADA system. The SCADA system may comprise the SCADA controller  28 , processor board, a display and a keypad. The SCADA controller  28  may be used to provide supervisory control to the plurality of input inverter controllers  27 B, the plurality of output inverter controllers  52 , battery management terminal  400 , and overvoltage protection switch. Furthermore the SCADA controller  28  may acquire data from the instrument circuits  100 ,  102 ,  104 , and  400  and store measured parameters as time stamped log data. This data can be directed automatically to a USB flash drive. The log data may also be used by the processor of the SCADA controller  28  to calculate time-related measurements such as hourly means. The processor may store the log data within the memory portion for at least five years. Optionally, the newest log data may overwrite the oldest log data if the memory portion becomes full. 
     In one example, the SCADA system may use an Olimex A20 processor board that drives a 4.3″ monochrome TFT display and a keypad. The processor board has a Real-Time Clock module that may be battery backed to preserve time and date information if the power-conditioning system  10  is powered down. The dual-processor 1 GHz ARM processor, described above provides the processing power and it stores all of its program and log data in an onboard 4 GB flash memory. Electrical power for the processor board may be provided by the auxiliary power supply  200  (as shown in  FIG. 15 ). The processor board may interface with a SCADA bus by means of an RS485 module. A packet protocol on the bus allows the SCADA system to interrogate each of the instrumentation boards  100 ,  102 ,  104  and  400  of the power-conditioning system, and to control the operation of the power-conditioning system  10 . 
     In one embodiment of the power-conditioning system  10 , a winch may optionally be physically coupled to a water turbine energy-capturing assembly  12  for inserting and withdrawing the water turbine from the flowing-water energy source  20 . The winch may be electronically connected, which is also referred to as electronically connectible, to the power conditioner  14  by an isolated relay so that the winch may receive an overvoltage signal which indicates an overvoltage state was detected at the input electric-power input  22 . Upon receiving the overvoltage signal, the winch can activate and withdraw the water turbine from the flowing water. Sustained excessive voltage within the electric-power input  22  may be caused by a turbine over-speed condition which requires removal of the turbine from the flowing-water energy source  20 . 
     In another embodiment, the power conditioner output relay may be used to actuate the brake on the energy-capturing assembly  12  when it is a turbine in the event an over speed situation occurs. 
     Optionally, the power-conditioning system  10  is capable of black starts, which are also referred to as cold starts. One embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises an auxiliary power supply to facilitate a black start by providing power to the power-conditioning system  10 . During a black start the SCADA controller  28  and the input-inverter controller are not operating so when the associated generator of the energy-capturing assembly  12  is a permanent magnet generator that starts running, freewheel diodes that bridge across the switching components in the input converter  26 A are used to perform diode-based rectification. This results in an energized DC link. The auxiliary power supply uses that DC link voltage to energize the SCADA controller  28 , input-inverter controller  27 B, output inverter controller  52 , and all the sensor instrument circuits required for the operation of these systems. Then the SCADA controller  28  commands the input-inverter controller  27 A to start performing active or transistor-based rectification, at which point the power factor coming from the associated generator is corrected—it is possible to emulate a capacitive load—and the output converter controller  52  is initiated. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the auxiliary power supply  200  comprises three components: (I) a DC to DC converter  200 A (see  FIG. 15 ) which regulates the variable DC link voltage down to 12 Volts DC; (II) an DC to AC inverter  200 B (see  FIG. 16 ) which creates 12 VAC from 12 VDC, because 12 VAC is required for the operation of the switches within the power conditioner  14 ; and (III) an auxiliary supply instrumentation board  102  (see  FIG. 17 ) which provides operational feedback from the auxiliary power supply  200  to the SCADA controller  28 . 
     The terminals  24 ,  30 ,  32 ,  400  of the power-conditioning system  10  can tolerate fault conditions that may arise from open or short circuits. When the fault condition is corrected, the power-conditioning system  10  may re-start, optionally, following a cool down period. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the power conditioner  14  further comprises one or more switch components  300  that may be used throughout the power conditioner  14  (see  FIG. 18 ). For example, there may be between about 5 and about 10 switch components  300  in the input converter  26 A. One or more switch components  300  may be used in the output converter  26 B. One or more switch components  300  may be used as an over-voltage switch that can actuate to direct the electric-power input  22  to an external resistor (not shown) if the electric-power input  22  is about 400 VAC or higher. The overvoltage switch  300  may also be referred to as an isolation switch. When the switch  300  is actuated, the power conditioner  14  can still monitor the voltage and frequency of the electric-power input  22  to determine when the overvoltage state has passed. When the overvoltage state has passed, the overvoltage switch  300  can be actuated again to direct the electric-power input  22  back to the power converter  26 . The switch component  300  is but one example of how the power-conditioning system  10  may use many modular components that can be easily repaired or replaced on site rather than having to move the power-conditioning system  10 , from a remote location where the power-conditioning system  10  is installed, to a repair facility. 
     In one embodiment of the present disclosure the power-conditioning system  10  is modular and scalable. In this embodiment, at least two energy-capturing assemblies  12  may be used. For example, two or more water turbines, two or more solar panels, two or more wind turbines, or combinations thereof may be used. Each turbine may be used to drive a respective associated-generator, or not in the case of solar panels or other chemical-based energy-capturing assemblies  12 . Each of the at least two energy-capturing assemblies  12  may produce an electric-power input  22  that is transferred to a respective input terminal  24 , a common input terminal  24  of the power conditioner  14  or more than one power conditioner  14  may be provided. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the power-conditioning system  10  may comprise a second-energy-capturing assembly  12 A that produces a second electric-power input  22 A and a second power conditioner  14 A that receives the second electric-power input  22 A (see  FIG. 19 ). The outputs from the power conditioners  14 ,  14 A may be parallelized to provide a scalable primary output  36 ′ and, optionally, a scalable secondary output  38 ′. 
     In other embodiments of the present disclosure, there may be a one-to-one ratio of two or more energy-capturing assemblies  12  to two or more power conditioners  14 . The primary output  36  and, optionally, the secondary output  38  from the two or more power conditioners  14  may be parallelized. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure the power-conditioning system  10  is mobile. Both of the energy-capturing assembly  12  and the power conditioner  14  are of a size, shape and weight that permit each to be physically carried by an able bodied person or carried by an animal. For example, the energy-capturing assembly  12  is modular and capable of being assembled from many smaller components into a water turbine that measures about 5 feet by 5 feet by 8 feet ( 5 ′×5′×8′) and weights between about 500 pounds and 700 pounds. The power conditioner  14  may be about 20 inches by about 20 inches by about 6 inches (20″×20″×6″) and weighs between about 20 pounds and about 50 pounds. When the power-conditioning system  10  is mobile it can be transported to and set up within remote locations that have no access to a power transmission or distribution grid. Furthermore, with the example dimensions and weights provided above, the power-conditioning system  10  may be transported to and set up in very remote areas that also do not have road access. Transporting and setting up a typical power generating or conditioning system in such remote areas may be limited by the weight of any batteries. 
     Because the power-conditioning system  10  is intended to be transported into and used in remote and very remote locations, the various components may be designed and built with both overall weight and durability as important considerations. The power-conditioning system  10  may operate in a range of ambient temperatures of between about −20° Celsius (C) to about 70° C. The power-conditioning system  10  may operate at various altitudes, for example between sea level and about 4 kilometers above sea-level. The power-conditioning system  10  may also operate at humidity levels that range between 0 and 100% humidity, which can include condensing conditions. Optionally, the power-conditioning system  10  is not susceptible to dripping water or salt water. The electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) susceptibility may also be low because the primary load  16  may be a portable cellular network tower.