An improved maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic grid-connected inverter

Abstract

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques are employed in photovoltaic (PV) systems to make full utilization of PV array output power which depends on solar irradiation and ambient temperature. Among all the MPPT strategies, the incremental conductance (IC) algorithm is widely used due to the high tracking accuracy at steady state and good adaptability to the rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. In this paper, an improved IC MPPT algorithm is proposed, which can extract maximum power from solar panel. Compared with the conventional method, the proposed approach can effectively improve the MPP tracking speed and accuracy simultaneously. Furthermore, a cascaded control structure with an outer dc link voltage control loop and an inner current control loop is used. Simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method provides effective, fast, and perfect tracking.