CAN-based architecture for MSC-GCCI with Maximum Power Point Tracking in large PV installations

This paper presents a novel CAN protocol based Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for the Master-slave Configured Grid-connected Centralized Inverters (MSCGCCI) in large solar power plants. The CAN protocol is a multi-master and has a very high immunity towards EMI/EMC issues arisen due to switching of the devices in power electronics converters. The proposed CAN protocol is reliable, deterministic and can go up to the maximum signaling speed of 1M bits per second. The CAN-based communication is ideally suited for power electronics application particularly for MSC-GCCI based architecture where each of the parallelconnected inverters communicates its online status and other critical information to the master inverter. In the case of the CAN communication failure, the proposed CAN protocol ensures that the total power from the slave inverter doesn't go to zero. The proposed MPPT algorithm along with CAN-based communication is implemented in 2 × 25 kW hardware set-up. The static and dynamic MPPT efficiency of the MSC-GCCI is tested as per EN50530 standard.