Improved Maximum Power Point Tracking of Partially Shaded PV Arrays Using Particle Swarm Optimization with Zone Initialization

Abstract

When modules in a solar array experience varying irradiance, a Global Maximum (GM) and multiple Local Maximums (LMs) can originate on the Power-Voltage (P-V) curve. In this work, we demonstrate that the efficiency and accuracy of detecting and tracking the GM point using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique can be improved via selective Zone Initialization (ZI) of particles compared to random particle distribution in conventional PSO. Our PSO-based ZI algorithm is up to 17% faster and 23.4% more accurate in finding the Global Maximum power resulting in an efficient and improved Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) of partially shaded Photovoltaic systems.