A new maximum power point tracking controller for photovoltaic power generation

This paper proposes a new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method in combination with one-cycle control for photovoltaic power generation. This control scheme is based on the automatic current-adjusting feature of one-cycle control. The output current of the inverter can be adjusted according to the voltage of the photovoltaic (PV) array so as to extract the maximum power from it. In the mean time, one-cycle control guarantees that the output current is in the same shape of and in phase with the grid voltage. All these are accomplished in one power stage and a simple control circuit. No detection and calculation of power are needed. Compared with previously proposed approaches, this method is much more efficient and more cost-effective and yet exhibits excellent performance. The principle is explained qualitatively and extensive experiments have been carried out to verify and validate the proposed method.