Energy extraction characteristic study of solar photovoltaic cells and modules

Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy is becoming an increasingly important part of the world's renewable energy. In order for effective energy extraction from a solar PV system, this paper investigates I-V and P-V characteristics of solar PV cells and modules. The paper focuses particularly on I-V and P-V characteristics of a solar PV system when PV cells operate under uneven shading and dissimilar conditions. The study considers the relationship between semiconductor properties of a solar PV system and the external electric circuit requirements. The paper also examined how different bypass diode arrangements could affect the maximum power extraction characteristics of a solar PV system. It is found in this paper that under uneven shading conditions, solar PV cells may perform very differently and a solar PV system may exhibit multiple peaks in its P-V characteristics, implying that enhanced PV system design approaches and MPPT strategies should be developed to improve efficiency of a solar PV system.