# US 11,441,915 B2 · Circuits for electricity-generating units

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- Number: US 11,441,915 B2
- Document ID: US11441915B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/445,144
- Filed: 2019-06-18
- Published: 2020-12-24
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2019-06-18
- Assignees: M. A. Mortenson Company
- Applicants: M. A. Mortenson Company
- Inventors: Jeffrey Paul Jackson; Raafe Karim Khan; Joseph Robert Bethke
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11441915B2

## CPC

- G01C 21/3446: {Details of route searching algorithms, e.g. Dijkstra, A*, arc-flags or using precalculated routes}
- F03D 9/00: Adaptations of wind motors for special use; Combinations of wind motors with apparatus driven thereby; Wind motors specially adapted for installation in particular locations (hybrid wind-photovoltaic energy systems for the generation of electric power H02S10/12)
- F03D 13/00: Assembly, mounting or commissioning of wind motors; Arrangements specially adapted for transporting wind motor components
- G06F 30/18: Network design, e.g. design based on topological or interconnect aspects of utility systems, piping, heating ventilation air conditioning [HVAC] or cabling (circuit design at the physical level G06F30/39; network planning tools for wireless communication networks H04W16/18)
- G06F 30/39: Circuit design at the physical level (physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347)
- G06Q 10/04: Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" (market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202)
- G06Q 10/08: Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
- H02J 3/0075: {for providing alternative feeding paths between load and source according to economic or energy efficiency considerations, e.g. economic dispatch}
- H02J 11/00: Circuit arrangements for providing service supply to auxiliaries of stations in which electric power is generated, distributed or converted
- G06F 2113/06: Wind turbines or wind farms
- H02J 2103/30: Simulating, planning, modelling, reliability check or computer assisted design [CAD] of electric power networks
- Y04S 40/20: Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- F03D: WIND MOTORS
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS

## Abstract

A system receives locations of a plurality of electricity-generating units in an area, and it divides the area into a plurality of sectors. The system traverses through the sectors and forms a set of sectors. The set of sectors includes a set of electricity-generating units. The set of electricity-generating units does not exceed an aggregate voltage threshold. The system forms a circuit with the set of electricity-generating units by determining a shortest path to connect the set of electricity-generating units. The system adjusts this shortest path to incorporate environmental and physical constraints.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A process comprising:
receiving, into a computer processor, locations of a plurality of electricity-generating units in an area;
determining a location of a substation as a function of the locations of the plurality of electricity-generating units and a point of connection to an electric grid;
dividing the area into a plurality of sectors;
traversing through the sectors and forming a first set of sectors, the first set of sectors comprising a first set of electricity-generating units, the first set of electricity-generating units not exceeding an aggregate wattage threshold; and
forming a first circuit with the first set of electricity-generating units by determining a shortest path to connect the first set of electricity-generating units.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1, wherein the dividing the area into a plurality of sectors comprises dividing the area into a plurality of equally-sized sectors.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The process of claim 2, wherein the traversing through the sectors comprises:
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at an initial sector, in a clockwise direction one equally-sized sector at a time, thereby generating an aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming the first set of sectors when the aggregation of equally-sized sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold;
forming the first circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the first set of sectors;
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at an equally-sized sector positioned after a terminal equally-sized sector in the first set of sectors, in the clockwise direction one equally-sized sector at a time, thereby generating a second aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming a second set of sectors when the second aggregation of equally-sized sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold; and
forming a second circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the second set of sectors.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The process of claim 3, wherein the traversing through the sectors comprises:
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at a second initial sector, the second initial sector positioned an equally-sized sector after the initial sector, in a clockwise direction one equally-sized sector at a time, thereby generating a third aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming a third set of sectors when the third aggregation of equally-sized sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold;
forming a third circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the third set of sectors;
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at an equally-sized sector positioned after a terminal equally-sized sector in the third set of sectors, in the clockwise direction one equally-sized sector at a time, thereby generating a fourth aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming a fourth set of sectors when the fourth aggregation of equally-sized sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold; and
forming a fourth circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the fourth set of sectors.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The process of claim 4, wherein the traversing through the sectors comprises:
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at the initial sector, in a counter-clockwise direction one equally-sized sector at a time, thereby generating a fifth aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming a fifth set of sectors when the fifth aggregation of equally-sized sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold;
forming a fifth circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the fifth set of sectors;
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at an equally-sized sector positioned after a terminal equally-sized sector in the fifth set of sectors, in the counter-clockwise direction one sector at a time, thereby generating a sixth aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming a sixth set of sectors when the sixth aggregation of sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold; and
forming a sixth circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the sixth set of sectors.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The process of claim 5, wherein the traversing through the sectors comprises:
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at a third initial sector, the third initial sector positioned an equally-sized sector after the initial sector, in a counter-clockwise direction one equally-sized sector at a time, thereby generating a seventh aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming a seventh set of sectors when the seventh aggregation of equally-sized sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold;
forming a seventh circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the seventh set of sectors;
stepping through the plurality of equally-sized sectors, beginning at an equally-sized sector after a terminal equally-sized sector in the seventh set of sectors, in the counter-clockwise direction one equally-sized sector at a time, thereby generating an eighth aggregation of equally-sized sectors;
forming an eighth set of sectors when the eighth aggregation of equally-sized sectors comprises electricity-generating units not exceeding the aggregate wattage threshold; and
forming an eighth circuit comprising electricity-generating units in the eighth set of sectors.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The process of claim 6, comprising:
determining a first cost for the first circuit and the second circuit;
determining a second cost for the third circuit and the fourth circuit;
determining a third cost for the fifth circuit and the sixth circuit;
determining a fourth cost for the seventh circuit and the eighth circuit;
selecting one of the first circuit and the second circuit, the third circuit and the fourth circuit, the fifth circuit and the sixth circuit, or the seventh circuit and the eighth circuit as selected circuits as a function of the first cost, the second cost, the third cost, and the fourth cost; and
coupling the selected circuits to the substation by incorporating the substation into a cluster of the electricity generating units and utilizing a minimum spanning tree algorithm.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The process of claim 7, comprising:
receiving into the computer processor data relating to physical constraints and environmental constraints in the area; and
modifying the selected circuits as a function of a least cost response to the physical constraints and the environmental constraints;
wherein the data relating to the physical constraints and the environmental constraints comprise one or more of a boundary area, a road infrastructure, a structure, a wetland, and a topographical feature.

### Claim 9 (depends on 2)

The process of claim 2, wherein the plurality of equally-sized sectors comprises 360 one-degree sectors.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1, wherein the determining the location of the substation as a function of the locations of the plurality of electricity-generating units and the point of connection to the electric grid comprises:
(a) clustering the plurality of electricity-generating units into a plurality of clusters;
(b) determining a center of each of the plurality of clusters;
(c) determining distances from the center of each of the plurality of clusters to the point of connection to the electric grid; and
(d) determining a cost of connecting the plurality of clusters to the substation and a cost of connecting the substation to the point of connection to the electric grid as a function of the distances and the location of the substation.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The process of claim 10, wherein the clustering comprises using a k means clustering algorithm.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The process of claim 10, comprising pre-selecting a plurality of locations for the substation along a path between the point of connection and the geographically weighted center of the turbines, and iterating through each of steps (a) through (d) for each of the plurality of locations for the substation to determine a location of the substation that generates a least cost of connecting the plurality of clusters to the substation and connecting the substation to the point of connection to the electric grid; and selecting a substation location with the least cost.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1, wherein the determining the shortest path to connect the first set of electricity-generating units comprises applying a minimum spanning tree algorithm to the first set of electricity-generating units.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1, comprising coupling the first circuit to the substation by incorporating the substation into the cluster of turbines and utilizing a minimum spanning tree algorithm.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The process of claim 14, wherein the substation is centrally located in the area.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electricity-generating units comprises wind turbines.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1, comprising connecting the electricity-generating units in the first circuit according to the shortest path; and connecting the first circuit to the substation.

### Claim 18

A process for determining a location of a substation in an area of a plurality of electricity-generating units as a function of locations of the plurality of electricity-generating units and a location of a point of connection to an electric grid comprising:
(a) selecting a proposed location of the substation;
(b) determining a distance from the proposed location of the substation to the location of the point of connection to the electric grid;
(c) clustering the plurality of electricity-generating units into a plurality of clusters;
(d) determining a center of each of the plurality of clusters;
(e) determining distances from the center of each of the plurality of clusters to the location of the point of connection to the electric grid; and
(f) determining a cost of connecting the plurality of clusters to the substation and a cost of connecting the proposed location of the substation to the location of the point of connection to the electric grid as a function of the distances from the center of each of the plurality of clusters to the location of the point of connection to the electric grid and the distance from the proposed location of the substation to the location of the point of connection to the electric grid.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The process of claim 18, comprising pre-selecting a plurality of proposed locations for the substation along a path between the point of interconnect and the geographically weighted center of the turbines, and iterating through each of steps (a) through (f) for each of the plurality of proposed locations for the substation to determine the proposed location of the substation that generates a least cost of connecting the plurality of clusters to the substation and connecting the substation to the point of connection to the electric grid; and selecting the proposed location of the substation with the least cost.

### Claim 20

A process comprising:
receiving, into a computer processor, locations of a plurality of electricity-generating units in an area;
dividing the area into a plurality of sectors;
traversing through the plurality of sectors in a first direction, beginning at an initial sector, one sector at a time, and forming a first set of multiple aggregate sectors, each multiple aggregate sector comprising a group of electricity generating units that does not exceed a wattage threshold;
traversing through the plurality of sectors in the first direction, beginning at a second initial sector, one sector at a time, and forming a second set of multiple aggregate sectors, each multiple aggregate sector in the second set comprising a group of electricity generating units that does not exceed the wattage threshold;
traversing through the plurality of sectors in a second direction, beginning at the initial sector, one sector at a time, and forming a third set of multiple aggregate sectors, each multiple aggregate sector in the third set comprising a group of electricity generating units that does not exceed the wattage threshold;
traversing through the plurality of sectors in the second direction, beginning at a third initial sector, one sector at a time, and forming a fourth set of multiple aggregate sectors, each multiple aggregate sector in the fourth set comprising a group of electricity generating units that does not exceed a wattage threshold;
determining a cost for connecting the electricity-generating units in each of the first set of multiple aggregate sectors, the second set of multiple aggregate sectors, the third set of multiple aggregate sectors, and the fourth set of multiple aggregate sectors; and
selecting as a circuit one of the first set of multiple aggregate sectors, the second set of multiple aggregate sectors, the third set of multiple aggregate sectors, or the fourth set of multiple aggregate sectors as a function of the cost.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The process of claim 20, comprising:
receiving into the computer processor data relating to physical constraints and environmental constraints in the area; and
modifying the selected circuit as a function of a least cost response to the physical constraints and the environmental constraints.

### Claim 22 (depends on 20)

The process of claim 20, comprising determining a location of a substation as a function of the locations of the plurality of electricity-generating units and a point of connection to an electric grid.

### Claim 23

A process comprising:
receiving, into a computer processor, locations of a plurality of electricity-generating units in an area;
dividing the area into a plurality of sectors;
traversing through the plurality of sectors, beginning at an initial sector, one sector at a time, and forming a first set of multiple aggregate sectors, each multiple aggregate sector comprising a group of electricity generating units that does not exceed a wattage threshold;
traversing through the plurality of sectors, beginning at a second initial sector, one sector at a time, and forming a second set of multiple aggregate sectors, each multiple aggregate sector in the second set comprising a group of electricity generating units that does not exceed the wattage threshold;
determining a cost for connecting the electricity-generating units in each of the first set of multiple aggregate sectors and the second set of multiple aggregate sectors; and
selecting as a circuit one of the first set of multiple aggregate sectors or the second set of multiple aggregate sectors.

### Claim 24

A process comprising:
receiving, into a computer processor, locations of a plurality of electricity-generating units in an area;
determining a location of a substation as a function of the locations of the plurality of electricity-generating units and a point of connection to an electric grid;
identifying a first set of electricity generating units that surround or are in close proximity to the substation;
clustering the electricity generating units into clusters, wherein the clusters do not include the first set of electricity generating units; and
coupling the clusters directly to the substation or coupling the clusters to the substation through one or more electricity generating units in the first set of electricity generating units.

### Claim 25 (depends on 24)

The process of claim 24, wherein the clustering the electricity generating units comprises using a minimum spanning tree algorithm.