Patent ID: 8884486

Claim:
A method for regulating the reactive power generated or absorbed by a synchronous electric generator, the method comprising: regulating a quantity of coils disposed in line with a stator winding; regulating a generator operating point of the generator; and operating the generator at least temporarily at a leading power factor, wherein the regulating of the quantity of coils is performed during the operation of the generator at the leading power factor such that a number of coils in line with the stator winding is reduced or increased; and wherein the regulation of the quantity of coils reduces the number of coils in line with the stator winding when the generator operates at the leading power factor to absorb reactive power such that the generator has less coils in line with the stator winding when the generator operates at the leading power factor as compared to when the generator operates at a lagging power factor and wherein the regulating of the quantity of the coils increases the number of coils in line with the stator winding when the generator is operating at the lagging power factor as compared to when the generator operates at the leading power factor.