Reduced Switch Multilevel Inverter Topologies for Renewable Energy Sources

This article proposes two generalized multilevel inverter configurations that reduce the number of switching devices, isolated DC sources, and total standing voltage on power switches, making them suitable for renewable energy sources. The main topology is a multilevel inverter that handles two isolated DC sources with ten power switches to create 25 voltage levels. Based on the main proposed topology, two generalized multilevel inverters are introduced to provide flexibility in the design and to minimize the number of elements. The optimal topologies for both extensive multilevel inverters are derived from different design objectives such as minimizing the number of elements (gate drivers, DC sources), achieving a large number of levels, and minimizing the total standing voltage. The main advantages of the proposed topologies are a reduced number of elements compared to those required by other existing multilevel inverter topologies. The power loss analysis and standalone PV application of the proposed topologies are discussed. Experimental results are presented for the proposed topology to demonstrate its correct operation.