The technology I invented, with Sorin’s assistance is a type of modulator. We called it an Array Converter and its modulation PAMCC for Pulse Amplitude Modulation Constant Current. As conceived, the noisy Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)of the power switching stage was converted to an almost emi free half sinewave by an ~15khz LC resonate circuit which I named a reconstruction filter. Since a resonate filter cannot change frequency, the energy in the PWM switching stage is converted to a constant width variable pulse amplitude. The filter was set at 1/2 or less of the PWM frequency, hence, low emi half sine wave output current. These pulses were about 30us wide so there were about 500 of them per 60hz grid cycle. Each pulse was amplitude modulated to represent a small portion of the much slower grid sinewave.

So each Array Converter has a carrier (used to be 30khz) and modulation (PAMCC) but they were not radios.

The individual Solar Panel / Array Converters sets were synchronized to the utility grid (as a common clock) which allowed them to offset the phase of their carriers from one another. Since the carrier of each Array Converter was the same frequency but with a slightly different phase and each array converter was modulating a set of pulses representing the same grid waveform (in phase) only the grid current waveform was present. Although Array Converters are not radios, the effect was to be something like when two out of phase carriers hit your car antenna and the station fades.

So to sum up when you have an Array of Array Converters connected together they suppress each others carriers (which a just above audible) leaving only, what can be, a very clean gird current waveform.

For those in the power field; An array of Array Converters/solar panels converts to something like a scalable distributed multi phase inverter.

What you just read is a summary of what is in my patents and published patent applications. To read more, go to the uspto.gov and look up the patent numbers listed in the post, track down the company (what ever they are call in this week) or look me up on linkedin.

RonDon, please cut her a break. I think you may be taking some metaphors intended to simplify a little to literally.

As to Solyndra, imo that was a plausible but flawed concept, brilliantly executed. It looked so good on paper that the VC community had $1.1B in before the DOE loan guarantee.

In 2008, Solyndra was held in such high regard that a VC had them do diligence on my newly formed Array Converter!

Solyndra is likely the largest private equity loss in history. I lot of very smart people in the valley missed this one.

I suspect that at least part of the calculus at the DOE was that they were making a small bet next to the big bet the best of the best Venture Funds had already made.

If anything, Array Converter is the inverse of Solyndra.

Cheers,
Kent Kernahan

The cost advantage would mostly be due to the fact it converts to 240v in the first stage which reduces the current in the remaining stages so cheaper (lower current rated) components can be used.

Solar Energy is about the lease efficient, most expensive way to generate electric. These companies are created for the sole purpose of stealing taxpayer money in exchange to campaign donations as we now see with Solyinda. All these companies manufacture is a failed solution for a non-existent problem and are tanking our economy by producing tons of BS. Maybe shoveling all that BS are the ‘shovel ready’ jobs Obama was talking about!

Solar energy is a failed response to the non-existent global warming scam. The real purpose is to put billions of taxpayer dollars into investor’s and manager’s pockets in exchange for campaign donations and when these companies predictably go bankrupt, the taxpayers get left holding the bag. Array Converter will be gone or begging for more bail-out money in six months.