Most importantly, you need to make complete, formal arrangements with the local utility. This is not primarily a matter of courtesy or economics, it is a matter of safety involving life and death.
The technical issues of synchronization can only be addressed coherently when all aspects of the interconnection needs are known.
Thanks for the reply. I am interested in a very basic view of how it might work. I do not have a specific generator or grid in mind, just wondering how to syncronize the phases. If you use the grid for excitation does it happen automatically? Or do you have to convert to DC and use a inverter? Can it be done without using a storage device?
What you want to know involves the interconnection needs that I mentioned before. Since you are currently concerned with generalities, it would be wise to design your system to be self exciting. The quantity, quality, and reliability of the power that you want to connect to the grid will all be important issues for synchronizing with the grid at any point.
