Method for balancing circuit voltage

Abstract

Various techniques are employed alone or in combination, to reduce the levelized cost of energy imposed by a power plant system. Solar energy concentrators in the form of inflated reflectors, focus light onto photovoltaic receivers. Multiple concentrators are grouped into a series-connected cluster that shares control circuitry and support structure. Individual concentrators are maintained at their maximum power point via balance controllers that control the flow of current that shunts this series connection. DC current from clusters is transmitted moderate distances to a centralized inverter. The inductance of transmission lines is maximized using an air-spaced twisted pair, enhancing the performance of boost-type three phase inverters. Cluster outputs are separate from individual inverters in massively interleaved arrays co-located at a central location. Step-up transformers convert inverter voltages to grid voltages, and small transformers provide isolation and voltage step-up only on receiver-to-receiver imbalance currents, typically <20% of the total current.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for balancing circuit voltage comprising:
 receiving, at a circuit, power from a plurality of power-generating elements, the circuit being coupled to first and second devices, the first device being communicatively coupled to the second device; and   boosting, using a switch and an inductor of the second device, the voltage produced by at least one of the plurality of power-generating elements such that the voltage of the circuit does not fall below a lower threshold voltage.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first device is an inverter and the second device is a balancer. 
     
     
         3 . A method for calibrating a circuit comprising:
 receiving, at the circuit, power from a plurality of power-generating elements, the circuit being coupled to first and second devices, the first device being communicatively coupled to the second device;   determining, using a current calibrator of the first device, a first current calibration measurement; and   determining, by the second device and using the determined first current calibration measurement, a second current calibration measurement.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 determining, using a voltage calibrator of a third device, a first voltage calibration measurement, wherein the third device is coupled to the circuit; and   determining, by a fourth device and using the determined first voltage calibration measurement, a second voltage calibration measurement, wherein the fourth device is coupled to the circuit, wherein the third and fourth devices are communicatively coupled.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first device is an inverter and the second device is a balancer. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 determining, by a tertiary device and using the determined second current calibration measurement, a third current calibration measurement.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second device is a balancer and the tertiary device is a balancer channel. 
     
     
         8 . A method for calibrating a master inverter comprising:
 calibrating each of a plurality of communicatively coupled individual inverters using a first current calibration measurement, wherein each of the plurality of individual inverters are coupled to an analog circuit; and   determining, by each of the individual inverters, a second current calibration measurement using the first current calibration measurement.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 calibrating each of the plurality of communicatively coupled individual inverters using a first voltage calibration measurement; and   determining, by each of the individual inverters, a second voltage current calibration measurement using the first voltage current calibration measurement.