A Shadow Tolerant Configuration for PV Integration to Grid using Modular Multilevel Converter

A shadow-tolerant photovoltaic converter configuration using the modular multilevel converter and the differential power processing converter without compromising the efficiency of the overall system is presented in this work. The proposed configuration is able to extract maximum power from the unshaded panels in the photovoltaic string under partially shaded condition, therefore, increasing the overall energy yield. A method to eliminate capacitor voltage ripple on the unshaded PV module is presented. This further improves the efficiency of energy collection by mitigating the effects of voltage ripple around the maximum operating point.