A novel maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic applications under partially shaded insolation conditions

In this paper, a novel strategy of maximum power point tracking is presented for photovoltaic power generation systems based on Fibonacci search algorithm to realize simple control system to track the real maximum power point even under non-uniform or for rapidly changing insolation conditions. The Fibonacci search technique was modified in order to apply to time-variant P-V characteristics of the PV array. It is proved experimentally and through simulation results that the algorithm has good performances and very fast response even for partial shaded PV modules. The proposed technique can be applied to various types of PV power conditioners including dc-dc and dc-ac converters. It can be commonly used instead of the conventional MPPT techniques. This method requires neither the measurement of temperature and insolation level nor prior knowledge about the model of the used photovoltaic panel. The proposed method can track the global maximum power point in most cases by doing a wide-range search and more power can be extracted with partial shaded PV modules as compared to the other methods. Simulation and experimental results are presented to prove the feasibility of the proposed technique. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.