Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is an important concern in Photovoltaic (PV) systems. As PV systems have a high cost of energy it is essential that they are operated to extract the maximum possible power at all times. However, under non-uniform environmental conditions, which frequently arise in the outdoor environment, many MPPT techniques will fail to track the global peak power. This review paper discusses conventional MPPT techniques designed to operate under uniform environmental conditions and highlights why these techniques fail under non-uniform conditions. Following this, techniques designed specifically to operate under non-uniform environmental conditions are analysed and compared. Simulation results which compare the performance of the common Perturb and Observe (P&O) method, the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) and the Simulated Annealing (SA) MPPT approaches under non-uniform environmental conditions are also presented. The research presented in this review indicates that there is no single technique which can achieve reliable global MPPT with low cost and complexity and be easily adapted to different PV systems.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	maximum power point tracking, photovoltaic
Research Division:	Engineering
Research Group:	Electronics, sensors and digital hardware
Research Field:	Photovoltaic devices (solar cells)
Objective Division:	Energy
Objective Group:	Renewable energy
Objective Field:	Solar-photovoltaic energy
UTAS Author:	Lyden, S (Dr Sarah Lyden)
UTAS Author:	Haque, ME (Dr Md Enamul Haque)
ID Code:	104499
Year Published:	2015
Web of Science® Times Cited:	101
Deposited By:	Engineering
Deposited On:	2015-11-12
Last Modified:	2017-11-06
Downloads:	0