New Maximum Power Point Tracking Technique Based on P&O Method

Abstract

In the most described maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods in the literatures, the optimal operation point of the photovoltaic (PV) systems is estimated by linear approximations. However, these approximations can lead to less optimal operating conditions and significantly reduce the performances of the PV systems. This paper proposes a new approach to determine the maximum power point (MPP) in order to increasing the system efficiently as much as possible. The proposed algorithm is a combination of two loops, set point calculation and fine tuning loops. In first stage, the maximum power is approximated based on the nonlinear modeling of the PV panels by using the set point loop. In second stage, the exact amount of the maximum power will be tracked by the fine tuning loop, which is based on the Perturbation and Observation (P&O) method. The proposed method is simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK software environment. The simulation results demonstrate that the approach clearly improves the tracking efficiency of the maximum power available at the output of the PV panels. The new method reduces the oscillations around the MPP as well as increases the average efficiency of the obtained MPPT. The new MPPT method will deliver more power to any generic load or energy storage media