Patent ID: 8823212

Claim:
A modular adjustable power factor renewable energy inverter system, the system comprising: a plurality of inverter modules, each inverter module having a dc power input and an ac power output, each inverter module further comprising at least one reactive element switchable to be connected to the ac power output of the inverter module; a common grid power feed coupled to the ac power outputs of the plurality of inverter modules; and a power factor controller for controlling a dissipation power factor of said inverter system, wherein said power factor controller is configured to: monitor the ac power provided to said common grid power feed by each of the inverter modules to determine a total ac power provided to said common grid power feed by said plurality of inverter modules; determine a number of said inverter modules to control, dependent on a proportion of a maximum power output of said inverter system represented by said total ac power provided to said common grid power feed; and control said determined number of inverter modules to switch said reactive element into respective said ac power output to control a displacement power factor of said inverter system.