Maximum Power Point Tracking Based on The Curve Sweep Method

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy stands out as a prominent renewable energy source with great potential for the generation of electricity in a wide variety of practical applications. However, PV devices present a nonlinear behavior associated with their respective current versus voltage (I-V) and power versus voltage (P-V) characteristics. Thus, it is necessary to employ maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques to ensure the operation at the maximum power condition whenever possible. Many MPPT strategies have been proposed so far in the literature, which vary in terms of implementation cost, complexity, ability to track the maximum power point (MPP) accurately, and efficiency. In this context, this work introduces an MPPT algorithm based on the curve sweep principle using a dc-dc SEPIC converter, whose duty cycle is varied to plot the required curves. Thus, it is possible to achieve accurate results considering that many points are obtained for obtaining the curves. A thorough discussion of simulation and experimental results is presented, as well as an in-depth comparison with the well-known perturb and observe (P&O) and incremental conductance (INC) techniques.