Assessment of maximum power point tracking techniques for photovoltaic system applications

Photovoltaic (PV) energy is one of the most important renewable energies because it is clean, requires very little maintenance. However, the relatively high costs and low conversion efficiency are still the major challenge to a larger and faster spread of PV systems. Therefore, the maximum power point tracker (MPPT) is essential in a PV system for maximizing the conversion efficiency of the solar array. Because of the nonlinear behavior of the PV systems, various techniques of the MPPT are employed in order to continuously operate the solar array at their MPP, despite the unavoidable changes in solar irradiance and temperature. This paper presents an assessment of five widely used MPPT techniques. These techniques are simulated in Matlab/Simulink environment in order to provide a comparison in terms of sensors required, ease of implementation, efficiency, the dynamic response of the PV system to variations in temperature and irradiance, and their appropriateness for the different applications of PV system. This can be used as a reference for future research related to the PV power generation. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.