Patent ID: 8212408

Claim:
Apparatus for collecting at least one megawatt of wind-generated electric power and delivering the at least one megawatt of wind-generated power to an AC transmission network, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of wind-generated power collection nodes, each one of the plurality of wind-generated power collection nodes comprising a wind turbine driven generator assembly having an AC synchronous generator with a generator output connected to an input of an AC to DC rectifier having a DC rectifier output; a plurality of node isolated step-down current regulators, each one of the plurality of node isolated step-down current regulators having a node isolated step-down current regulator input connected exclusively to the DC rectifier output of one of the plurality of wind-generated power collection nodes; a series string high voltage DC series circuit formed from a serial interconnection of a node isolated step-down current regulator output from each one of the plurality of wind-generator power collection nodes, the series string high voltage DC series circuit having an electric potential of at least 15 kilovolts; a high voltage DC power transmission link having a first and a second end high voltage DC power transmission link terminations, the first end high voltage DC power transmission link termination connected across the series string high voltage DC series circuit; a plurality of regulated current source inverters, each one of the plurality of regulated current source inverters having an inverter DC input and an inverter three phase AC output, the inverter DC input of each one of the plurality of regulated current source inverters series interconnected to form a series string inverter DC input circuit, the second end high voltage DC power transmission link termination connected across the series string inverter DC input circuit, the inverter three phase AC output of each one of the plurality of regulated current source inverters in voltage synchronization with the voltage of the AC transmission network, and each phase current of the inverter three phase AC output of each one of the plurality of regulated current source inverters having a stepped current waveform; and at least one phase shifting transformation network, each one of the at least one phase shifting transformation networks connecting the inverter AC outputs of the plurality of regulated current source inverters to the AC transmission network.