Research on Maximum Power Point Tracking Strategy for Partially Shaded PV System Based on Improved Firefly Algorithm

When photovoltaic (PV) arrays operate under the partial shadow, the output characteristic curve has multiple peaks, and it is difficult for traditional algorithms to track the global maximum power point (GMPP). To solve this problem, this paper proposes an improved firefly algorithm (IFA), which introduces an adaptive step size based on the traditional firefly algorithm (FA). In the early stage of algorithm operation, the larger step size is adopted, in the later stage of the algorithm operation, the smaller step size is taken, so that the algorithm can quickly and accurately realize the PV global maximum power point tracking (GMPPT). A simulation model is built in Matlab/Simulink, the results under static and dynamic conditions prove the effectiveness of the improved algorithm.