A novel design and automation of a biaxial solar tracking system for PV power applications

The interest in electricity generation from photovoltaic (PV) systems has experienced significant growth in recent years, justified by the reduced environmental impact generated. The energy extracted from PV systems is related to the amount solar irradiation and thus the angle of incidence of the sun's rays on the surface of the panels. This paper presents, on one hand, a novel design of a biaxial solar tracking system (azimuth and elevation angle) for PV power application and on the other, the set-up of the control system focused on increasing the efficiency of the PV generation system across the implementing of a digital Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) position control scheme to achieve the maximum power point tracking (MPPT), ensuring the maximum energy available from the photovoltaic panels.