An adaptive InCon MPPT algorithm considering irradiance slope tracking for PV application

In this paper, a new adaptive InCon MPPT algorithm, considering irradiance slope tracking and zero oscillation (ZA-InCon) for PV application is presented. The convectional InCon algorithms are used to extract maximum available power from photovoltaic panels, but these algorithms oscillate around maximum power point and, since they have no conception of PV panel I-V characteristic they may confuse under rapidly changing environmental conditions. The artificial perturbation and deviation from maximum power point result in high power losses and lower implementation efficiency. The proposed ZA-InCon algorithm identifies steady state operation mode and sets operating point near the maximum power point. The environmental condition changes can be estimated from current natural perturbation and the step size is adjusted accurately for irradiance slope tracking. To validate the proposed algorithm, it is compared with conventional InCon algorithm under different environmental conditions by simulation. A boost converter is used to realize the proposed ZA-InCon algorithm.