Maximum Power Point Tracking

Maximum Power Point Tracking: Background, Implementation and Classification presents state-of-art of existing conventional maximum power point techniques, along with shading mitigation techniques, and compares them on various parameters. Photovoltaic systems include storage batteries when there is surplus power to provide electricity on demand. A suitable charge controller is needed for interfacing the solar photovoltaic module(s) with the battery bank. As such, attention has been made to attribute more features to the controller which will enhance the efficiency and controllability, and to monitor the health of the battery being charged. The authors review the considerations for maximum power point tracking in large utility scale photovoltaic systems and small-scale residential photovoltaic systems. A set of characteristics is proposed and criteria is defined to evaluate the suitability of a technique. In the penultimate study, power storage systems in ~100 W level are developed, which consist of direct current-alternating current converters, spherical Si solar cells, a maximum power point tracking controller, and lithium-ion batteries. Two types of inverters were used: SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and conventional Si MOSFETs. In closing, the authors propose a simplified control stratagem to offer optimal power output power from a variable speed grid connected wind energy conversion system.