The PSO Based Global Maximum Power Point Tracker

Abstract

The power produced by photovoltaic (PV) module is directly dependent on solar irradiance. The partial shading occurs when PV modules in the PV array have different solar irradiance levels. This can significantly reduce the output power of the PV array. Many maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods have been proposed with the aim of extracting maximum power from PV systems. In recent years, wide varieties of optimization methods have become more popular than the conventional methods, particularly in order to achieve global maximum power point (GMPP). The Particle swarm optimization (PSO) evolutionary technique is a proper optimization method for global maximum power point tracking (GMPPT). This paper proposes a modified PSO based algorithm, and the model of the proposed system is built in PSIM and the experimental setup is developed to confirm its effectiveness. The obtained simulation and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can track accurately the global maximum power point of the PV system. It has high MPPT efficiency and low steady-state oscillations, and particularly shows good performance under non-uniform irradiation conditions.