Patent ID: 8751053

Claim:
A system, comprising: a direct current (DC), high voltage power line configured to operate at a voltage to deliver electrical energy to a consumer of the energy; a plurality of photovoltaic panels, each respective photovoltaic panel of the plurality of photovoltaic panels having a respective link module coupled between the DC, high voltage power line and the respective photovoltaic panel, the respective link module configured to provide electricity produced by the respective photovoltaic panel solely to the DC, high voltage power line, the respective link module including a transceiver configured in a slave mode of operation to transmit data using the DC, high voltage power line, after receiving a command, a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) step-up converter to convert a voltage produced by the respective photovoltaic panel to the voltage of the DC, high voltage power line, and a parameter monitoring unit to produce parameter data for the respective photovoltaic panel; an inverter configured to transfer electricity from the direct current (DC), high voltage power line to a utility grid; and a management unit coupled to the direct current, high voltage power line to transmit the command to the transceiver of the respective link module and coupled to a local area network to communicate with internet, the management unit to receive the parameter data from the transceiver of the respective link module, and to send control signals to the transceiver of the respective link module to provide individual operational control of the respective photovoltaic panel, wherein the management unit including a web server configured to show photovoltaic panel data, panel performance, panel failure, system efficiency, and power generation information.