Comparative performance analysis of maximum power point tracking technique for large scale photovoltaic system

Photovoltaic power interfaced to the grid has been become most popular renewable energy sources nowadays because of its effective long-duration outcomes. To enhance the use of high power arrays of PV modules, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique is usually utilized in synchronism with the power converter (DC/DC converter and/or DC/AC inverter). Because of the changing ecological conditions, as temperature and sun light irradiation, power-voltage characteristic curve displays Maximum Power Point (MPP), which fluctuates nonlinearly with these factors, in this way presenting a challenge for the tracking principles. A comparative performance study of different MPPT algorithms for a large PV array is presented in this paper. The popular Perturb and Observe (P&O) and Incremental Conductance (InCond) MPPT techniques are considered here for their simplicity and lower computational steps requirements. The PV array output characteristics as power, voltage, current, etc., are observed by varying the irradiance of the PV modules. The Boost converter is utilized to boost-up the PV voltage. All these studies have done by the MATLAB/Simulink environment. These will provide useful framework and point of references for the future PV power research and implementation.