The rise in photovoltaic (PV) energy utilization has led to increased research on its functioning, as its accurate modeling is crucial for system simulations. However, capturing nonlinear current–voltage traits is challenging due to limited data from cells’ datasheets. This paper presents a novel enhanced version of the Brown-Bear Optimization Algorithm (EBOA) for determining the ideal parameters for the circuit model. The presented EBOA incorporates several modifications aimed at improving its searching capabilities. It combines Fractional-order Chaos maps (FC maps), which support the BOA settings to be adjusted in an adaptive manner. Additionally, it integrates key mechanisms from the Hippopotamus Optimization (HO) to strengthen the algorithm’s exploitation potential by leveraging surrounding knowledge for more effective position updates while also improving the balance between global and local search processes. The EBOA was subjected to extensive mathematical validation through the application of benchmark functions to rigorously assess its performance. Also, PV parameter estimation was achieved by combining the EBOA with a Newton–Raphson approach. Numerous module and cell varieties, including RTC France, STP6-120/36, and Photowatt-PWP201, were assessed using double-diode and single-diode PV models. The higher performance of the EBOA was shown by a statistical comparison with many well-known metaheuristic techniques. To illustrate this, the root mean-squared error values achieved by our scheme using (SDM, DDM) for RTC France, STP6-120/36, and PWP201 are as follows: (8.183847 × 10−4, 7.478488 × 10−4), (1.430320 × 10−2, 1.427010 × 10−2), and (2.220075 × 10−3, 2.061273 × 10−3), respectively. The experimental results show that the EBOA works better than alternative techniques in terms of accuracy, consistency, and convergence.
