Bi-directional energy converter with multiple DC sources

An energy conversion system comprising:

• a plurality of basic inversion units coupled to a plurality of direct current (DC) sources, wherein each of the plurality of basic inversion units is coupled to a respective one of the plurality of DC sources through a positive node and a negative node of the respective one of the plurality of DC sources;
• wherein the plurality of basic inversion units are connected in series to form a stacked phase, the stacked phase comprising a first terminus and a second terminus, wherein the first terminus is a first node of a first basic inversion unit of the plurality of basic inversion units in the stacked phase and wherein the second terminus is a first node of a last basic inversion unit of the plurality of basic inversion units in the stacked phase, wherein the first terminus and the second terminus are coupled to an alternating current (AC) power system, and wherein the stacked phase is configured to output an aggregate sinusoidal voltage waveform to the AC power system:
• and
• a plurality of local controllers, wherein each of the plurality of basic inversion units comprises a respective one of the plurality of local controllers, and wherein each of the plurality of local controllers is configured to provide control signals to a respective basic inversion unit of the plurality of basic inversion units such that the respective basic inversion unit outputs a sinusoidal voltage waveform,
• the system further comprises:
• a system controller coupled between the stacked phase and the AC power system, wherein the system controller is configured to communicate with the plurality of local controllers using system control signals in order to create the aggregate sinusoidal voltage waveform, wherein the system control signals control the plurality of local controllers to ensure that the sinusoidal voltage waveform of each of the plurality of basic inversion units is in phase, and wherein the combination of the sinusoidal voltage waveform of each of the plurality of basic inversion units creates the aggregate sinusoidal voltage waveform.