Optimization of the perturb and observe maximum power point tracker for a distributed photovoltaic system

Abstract

With everyday passing, power generation from photovoltaic (PV) systems are getting increased around the globe. One of the drawbacks of PV systems is that they exhibit non-linear I-V curves with respect to atmospheric conditions. Therefore, maximum power point tracker (MPPT) technique is installed in every PV system. One of the most popular technique is perturb & observe (P&O) but this technique has some shortcomings. In this paper, MPPT technique is proposed which will optimize the P&O with respect to distributed PV (DPV) plant. Such that the deficiencies of P&O are removed. The proposed technique is designed for DPV and is working in two modes. In mode-1, decision making of the proposed technique revolves around the mutual co-ordination between two modules/arrays. During this mode, one array will behave as leader (L) while other array as follower (F). In mode-2, proposed technique utilizes the individual P&O for both arrays. Model is the superior performance mode in which efficiency of the proposed technique is better than P&O. While, in mode-2 both techniques have same efficiency. Finally, the proposed technique is modeled in Matlab/Simulink. The proposed technique is tested under various weather conditions and superior performance of the proposed technique is proved through simulation results.