Accelerated particle swarm optimization algorithm for maximum power point tracking in partially shaded PV systems

Photovoltaic (PV) systems have gained major attention in the recent past due to the paradigm shift to renewable energy sources. The P-V curve of a PV system has a unique point at which power is maximum and this point varies with changing irradiance and cell temperature. Hence a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm has to be in place to make sure that maximum power is extracted. In large PV arrays one or more cells may get shaded due to a nearby building or a passing cloud. The P-V curve of such a partially shaded array has more than one peak and the algorithm has to identify the global peak. Conventional MPPT algorithms fail to do this. Recently the bio inspired particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm has shown its ability extract maximum power from an array under any shading condition. This paper uses accelerated PSO (APSO) algorithm, a simplified version of the PSO algorithm. The performance of this algorithm has been validated through simulation for different shading patterns.