A starting system and method for a microturbine power generation unit

A power electrical system is disclosed for a microturbine power generator (12, 14). The invention permits the microturbine to be started using an external DC power source (18). The DC voltage is converted to a variable DC voltage by means of a bi-directional buck-boost chopper circuit (30), DC bus (24) and a DC-to-AC converter (26). The DC-to-AC converter produces at its output a fixed voltage pattern whose frequency is gradually increased in concert with the DC voltage, to accelerate the microturbine from standstill to startup speed. Once the microturbine is started, the excitation is discontinued , and the DC bus (24) and DC-to-AC converter (26) are used to produce output AC power at a voltage level and frequency to match an electrical load (16).