A SIMPLE AND COST EFFECTIVE MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKER FOR PV ARRAYS EMPLOYING A NOVEL CONSTANT VOLTAGE TECHNIQUE

Photovoltaic generation is the direct conversion of solar energy into direct current electricity. For the past several years the use of the photovoltaic (PV) panels for power generation is increasing in popularity since PV electricity is considered to be a sustainable source of energy which is rapidly becoming more economical. Extensive research is being conducted on the photovoltaic cells and on controllers to cost-effectively increase system efficiency to encourage PV power as a reliable power source for stand-alone and grid-connected applications. This paper presents the modeling and simulation of a very simple maximum power point tracker (MPPT) used in conjunction with a buck converter for a polycrystalline PV array. The proposed MPPT controller is very simple with no PI controller.