A Novel MPPT Algorithm Based on Particle Swarm Optimization for Photovoltaic Systems

This paper describes a new maximum-power-point-tracking method for a photovoltaic system based on the Lagrange Interpolation Formula and proposes the particle swarm optimization method. The proposed control scheme eliminates the problems of conventional methods by using only a simple numerical calculation to initialize the particles around the global maximum power point. Hence, the suggested control scheme will utilize less iterations to reach the maximum power point. Simulation study is carried out using MATLAB/SIMULINK and compared with the Perturb and Observe method, the Incremental Conductance method, and the conventional Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm. The proposed algorithm is verified with the OPAL-RT real-time simulator. The simulation results confirm that the proposed algorithm can effectively enhance the stability and the fast tracking capability under abnormal insolation conditions.