Abstract: A system that maintains the relative and/or absolute geographical positions of two or more buoyant devices floating in a body of water. A plurality of formation restoring tethers are disclosed which permit the unrestricted vertical movement of networked buoyant devices, while resisting increases in their lateral separations by providing restoring forces to oppose such separations. Tensioning mechanisms incorporated into the tethers generate the resistance to the lateral separations of two or more entities by transforming such separations into an increase in the potential energy stored within such tensioning mechanisms, the potential energy of which is released in the process of restoring the original separations and/or positions of the displaced buoyant devices.

Abstract: A propulsion system for an unmanned underwater vehicle includes a turbine engine, a generator mechanically coupled to an output shaft of the turbine engine, an electrical motor mechanically decoupled from the turbine engine and electrically coupled to the generator via a power bus architecture, and a propulsor mechanically coupled to a rotational output of the electrical motor. The power bus architecture includes a pair of AC buses and a DC bus.

Abstract: A method for the maintenance of a first wind energy installation from a group of wind energy installations. In the method, a future maintenance time period is identified in which a boost power of the group of wind energy installations is greater than a prescribed threshold value, wherein the boost power results from a wind speed predicted for the future maintenance time period, said wind speed being greater than a rated wind speed. The power of the first wind energy installation is reduced after the start of the maintenance time period and a boost power is drawn from a plurality of wind energy installations from the group of wind energy installations. A maintenance process is carried out at the first wind energy installation. The invention furthermore relates to a control unit suitable for carrying out the method.

Abstract: A technique for providing electric power to an electric power utility grid includes driving an electric power alternator coupled to the grid with a spark-ignited or direct injection internal combustion engine; detecting a change in electrical loading of the alternator; in response to the change, adjusting parameters of the engine and/or generator to adjust power provided by the engine. In one further forms of this technique, the adjusting of parameters for the engine includes retarding spark timing and/or interrupting the spark ignition; reducing or retarding direct injection timing or fuel amount and/or interrupting the direct injection; and/or the adjusting of parameters for the generator including increasing the field of the alternator or adding an electrical load.

Abstract: Controlling a wind turbine during a grid fault where the grid voltage drops below a nominal grid voltage. After detection of a grid fault, the total current limit for the power converter output is increased to a total maximum overload current limit. Depending on whether active or reactive current generation is prioritized, an active or reactive current reference is determined. The active current reference is determined in a way so that a reduction in active power production due to the grid voltage drop is minimized and based on the condition that the vector-sum of the active output current and the reactive output current is limited according to the total maximum overload current limit, and a maximum period of time is determined in which the power converter can be controlled based on the active/reactive current references. Afterwards the power converter is controlled based on the active and reactive current references.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method allowing short-term prediction of the wave motion (force, elevation, . . . ), from a time series of past wave measurements. The prediction method according to the invention is based on the estimation of the variable coefficients of an autoregressive model while allowing multi-step minimization, that is over a horizon of several time steps in the future, of the prediction error.

Abstract: A method of controlling a wind turbine generator (1) comprising an electrical generator (10) and a power converter (12), the power converter (12) comprising an electrical switch (14a, 14b) that is configured to process electrical power produced by the electrical generator (10), the method comprising: controlling an output from the electrical switch (14a, 14b) using a variable pulse-width modulated control signal, thereby to control characteristics of output power from the power converter (12); acquiring sample data (26) relating to an electronic signal within the wind turbine generator (1), wherein the sample data (26) is used for controlling the wind turbine generator (1); and dynamically adjusting a frequency (30) at which the sample data is acquired to synchronise data acquisition with a carrier frequency (24) of the control signal.

Abstract: An apparatus supplying alternating current to a load.

Abstract: The gas turbine engine can have a rotor rotatably mounted to an engine casing, the rotor having compressor blades, and an alternator, the alternator having an armature with a winding forming part of the rotor and a magnetic field generator forming part of the engine casing, with an air gap between the magnetic field generator and the armature, the winding being electrically connected to a resistor embedded in at least one of the compressor blades.

Abstract: A method for operating a wind power installation having a rotor with rotor blades with an adjustable blade angle is provided. The installation is operated in a full-load mode for delivering a system-specific maximum power and in a partial-load mode for delivering a lower power, up to the system-specific maximum power. The installation in the partial-load mode operates according to choice in a normal mode or a limited mode, in each case based on an operating characteristic, which specifies a relationship between a rotational speed (n) of the rotor and the power to be delivered. A first operating characteristic is provided for operating the installation in the normal mode, and at least one second operating characteristic is provided for operating in the limited mode. The second operating characteristic provides a higher power for at least one rotational speed range than the first operating characteristic for the rotational speed range.

Abstract: A method for controlling at least one wind power installation for generating electrical energy from wind for infeed into an electrical supply network is provided. The wind power installation has a rotor that can be operated at a variable rotor rotational speed and rotor blades having adjustable blade angles and coupled to the aerodynamic rotor, for generating a generator power. The wind power installation is operated in a normal mode in which it feeds available wind power up to a rated power into the network and the available wind power indicates a power which can be obtained from the wind and fed into the network depending on the wind and technical limitations of the wind power installation. The wind power installation changes from the normal mode to a support mode depending on an operating situation of at least one solar installation which feeds into the same network.

Abstract: A vehicle system for mounting in a vehicle which includes a control device. The control device includes a calculation unit calculating a stopping rate which is a percentage an automatic stop in a predetermined period, and a charge controller. The charge controller performs charging relative to an electrical storage device from a power generator when a charging rate is lower than a predetermined charging rate. The charge controller also controls the power generator such that the charging rate to the electrical storage device is increased with an automatic restart.

Abstract: A wind power installation comprising one or more rotor blades, a rotor hub to which the rotor blade or blades are mounted, and a generator for generating electrical power, wherein the generator has a generator stator and a generator rotor which is non-rotatably connected to the rotor hub and which is rotatable about an axis, wherein the rotor hub and the generator rotor have a common main bearing system or means which is subdivided into two bearing portions which are spaced from each other in the direction of the axis, wherein in that the first bearing portion has a first radial plain bearing and a first axial plain bearing and the second bearing portion has a second radial plain bearing and a second axial plain bearing.

Abstract: A circuit for polarizing magnetic material using a magnetic field of an excitation coil includes a port configured to provide a connection with a DC power supply. The circuit also includes at least one capacitor and driver circuitry configured to drive the excitation coil and the at least one capacitor. The driver circuitry is configured to discharge the excitation coil to the DC power supply via the at least one capacitor.

Abstract: A hybrid ram air turbine assembly includes a turbine portion having a plurality of turbine blades connected to a turbine shaft via a hub. A pivot joint is connected to the turbine portion by a hydraulic pump and an electric generator. The hydraulic pump and the electric generator are in-line with each other, and the turbine shaft is connected to a generator input shaft via a first gear set.

Abstract: A genset including at least one generator for generating electrical energy, which can be driven by a drive device is provided. Also provided is a detection device for detection of the presence of a grid fault in at least one phase of the power grid, a device for determining an operating state of the generator immediately before or upon detection of a grid fault, and a regulating device, to which the signals of the detection device and the device for determining an operating state of the generator can be fed. The regulating device is designed upon detection of a grid fault to reduce the power of the drive device in dependence of that operating state of the generator, which has been determined immediately before or upon detection of the grid fault.

Abstract: A vehicle mounted energy generator and storage system includes: a screened air inlet facing a front of the vehicle through which air enters when the vehicle is moving forward; a pneumatic barrel impeller assembly including one or more integral impeller air vanes positioned such that air flowing through the air inlet applies positive pressure to the one or more impeller air vanes to turn the pneumatic barrel impeller assembly and drive one or more generator/transmission assemblies; one or more batteries receiving energy generated by the pneumatic barrel impeller assembly; and an evacuation blower applying negative pressure to the rear of the impeller air vanes by evacuating air through one or more screened outlets not facing the front of the vehicle.

Abstract: A wind-powered display and method and computer program products for operating the same are provided. Aspects include obtaining a content item to be displayed on a wind-powered display panel, the wind-powered display panel including a plurality of embedded turbines that each has a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs). Aspects also include receiving rotational information for each of the plurality of embedded turbines and determining an illumination pattern for the plurality of LEDs based on the rotational information. Aspects further include selectively activating one or more of the plurality of LEDs based on the illumination pattern to cause the content item to be displayed on the wind-powered display.

Abstract: A controller for a wind turbine is disclosed, comprising: a processor; an input/output interface; and a memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: i) select a setting xi from a list of settings X1, . . . , XN; ii) operate the turbine according to setting Xi for a period of time t1; iii) record a power output signal over t1; iv) repeat steps i) to iii) for another setting in X1, . . . , XN until all N settings have been used; v) repeat steps i) to iv) for a number of cycles c; vi) calculate a summarized power output for each setting over all cycles; and vii) compare the summarized power outputs across settings and determine whether any setting X* results in a higher power output than other settings tested. A method of identifying power production improvements in a wind turbine, a computer program and a wind turbine are also disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed is a novel device that converts some of the power in ocean waves into electrical power or other means of performing useful work. One or more tubes are arranged so that when the device is in position in a body of water, the tubes are oriented vertically with one end positioned proximate to and/or above the surface of the body of water on which the device floats, and with the other end positioned below the surface of that body of water. In some embodiments, through a differential restriction on the flow of air in and out of an upper end of the tube, the average height of the water inside the tube is different from the average height of the water outside the tube. In some embodiments, a hollow void inside a flotation structure of the embodiment is filled with water to contribute significant mass to the embodiment and increase the momentum associated with its vertical oscillations.