US 11,901,857 B2
Solar array with reference solar power plant for improved management
Madyan Michotte De Welle, Marseilles (FR); and Jérôme Arliaud, Pourrières (FR)
Assigned to NEXTRACKER LLC, Fremont, CA (US)
Filed by Nextracker LLC, Fremont, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 11, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/095,795.
Application 18/095,795 is a continuation of application No. 17/698,815, filed on Mar. 18, 2022, granted, now 11,558,009.
Application 17/698,815 is a continuation of application No. 17/147,233, filed on Jan. 12, 2021, granted, now 11,296,647, issued on Apr. 5, 2022.
Application 17/147,233 is a continuation of application No. 16/067,939, granted, now 10,892,704, issued on Jan. 12, 2021, previously published as PCT/FR2016/053672, filed on Dec. 27, 2016.
Claims priority of application No. 16/50014 (FR), filed on Jan. 4, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2023/0246586 A1, Aug. 3, 2023
Int. Cl. H02S 20/32 (2014.01); G05D 3/10 (2006.01); F24S 30/425 (2018.01); F24S 50/20 (2018.01)
CPC H02S 20/32 (2014.12) [F24S 30/425 (2018.05); G05D 3/105 (2013.01); F24S 2050/25 (2018.05)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A solar array comprising:
solar modules supported by solar trackers, the solar trackers including actuators configured to rotate the solar modules about axes of rotation of the solar trackers, the solar modules including reference solar modules aligned with each other, the reference solar modules including a first reference solar module and second reference solar modules; and
a controller operatively coupled to the actuators to control angular orientations of the solar modules, wherein the controller is configured to:
control an angular orientation of the first reference solar module according to a first reference orientation setpoint corresponding to an initial orientation setpoint;
control an angular orientation of the second reference solar module according to a second reference orientation setpoint, the second reference orientation setpoint corresponding to the initial orientation setpoint shifted by an offset angle associated with the second reference solar module; and
control the angular orientations of the solar modules other than the reference solar modules according to a reference orientation setpoint associated with a reference solar module of the first and second reference solar modules.