Characterization of Power Optimizer Potential to Increase Energy Capture in Photovoltaic Systems Operating Under Nonuniform Conditions

MacAlpine, Sara; Erickson, Robert W.; Brandemuehl, Michael J.

doi:10.1109/tpel.2012.2226476

Cited by 158 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…It is well known that the conventional series-connections of photovoltaic (PV) power modules result in the weakest-link problem and cause disproportionate energy loss [11,13]. A few underperforming cells can cause significant loss in energy capture in a large string because series-connected cells must carry the same current, and are therefore constrained by the lowest-performing cell.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few underperforming cells can cause significant loss in energy capture in a large string because series-connected cells must carry the same current, and are therefore constrained by the lowest-performing cell. Mismatches caused by partial shading, dirt accumulation, manufacturing tolerances, and different aging characteristics can severely limit the overall power extraction from a string and the negatively impact the longterm project economics [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differential diffusion charge redistribution for photovoltaic cell-level power balancing

Chang¹,

Leeb²

2014

2014 International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Application (ICRERA)

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Abstract-Mismatch loss remains an important issue to address in PV systems, and many power electronic solutions have been proposed to recover these losses. However, conventional power electronics for solar power optimization often have to make tradeoffs among conversion efficiency, optimization granularity, and overall system cost. This paper presents a cell-level power balancing scheme that breaks the existing design paradigm. The proposed architecture simultaneously achieves maximum power point tracking without any external passive components at the cell-level, and maintains differential power processing with zero insertion loss. This is accomplished by leveraging the recently proposed diffusion charge redistribution technique, taking advantage of the readily available diffusion capacitance of solar cells to perform power balancing rather than relying on adding costly energy storage components. Furthermore, a dual current inverter interface is introduced to avoid processing commonmode generated power in order to minimize overall conversion loss. Significant boost in overall system efficiency is achieved under both matched and partial shading conditions. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the feasibility and benefit of this approach.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential diffusion charge redistribution for photovoltaic cell-level power balancing

Chang¹,

Leeb²

2014

2014 International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Application (ICRERA)

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“…Ref [10] developed a power optimizer software for executing a power conversion and distributing maximum power point tracking to capture maximum PV array tied to the electric grid by taking input parameter data about panel, array, shading obstacles, weather data and using this information to perform plane of array irradiance mapping and using this data to develop annual simulation software for power recovery in array during complete or partial shading. But this system required annual update for data and it didn't work accurately if there are unpredictable reason for shading.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconfiguration technique for Optimization of the Photovoltaic array output power under partial shading conditions

Mohamed

Saafan²,

Attalla³

et al. 2018

Tr Ren Energy

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A partial shading condition is a case under which the PV array is exposed to many problems such as losses of the output power of the PV array, and the PV array has more than one maximum power point (MPP), which makes it so difficult to track the MPP. This paper presents the effect of different partial shading patterns on PV array characteristics and the effect on the output power of the PV array, and provides a comparative literature review on methods to mitigate these effects and the drawbacks of these methods. It also proposed a new reconfiguration strategy that increases the output power of the PV array by 13.8 % from the total power under shadow condition, and a new technique for enhancing the output power of the PV array by 20 % of the total power under fully illumining conditions by controlling the switch matrix between the photovoltaic array and adaptive batteries bank. This paper gives a solution for the problem of the difficulty of tracking the MPP, because the proposed strategy makes only one MPP. The simulation was carried out by using MATLAB Simulink under different shading patterns.

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“…For instance, the world level solar power farm, Sarnia photovoltaic power plant in Canada, spans an area of 950 acres, and produces electricity to power 12,800 homes. A PV array covering such a large area will experience non-uniform insolation, or partial shading [3] [4]. In addition, when a PV cell or a module is faulty, it may generate a reduced power or even become a load to consume power.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermography-Based Virtual MPPT Scheme for Improving PV Energy Efficiency Under Partial Shading Conditions

Cao

et al. 2014

IEEE Trans. Power Electron.

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Abstract -This paper proposes a new thermography-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) scheme to address photovoltaic (PV) partial shading faults. Solar power generation utilizes a large number of PV cells connected in series and in parallel in an array, and which are physically distributed across a large field. When a PV module is faulted or partial shading occurs, the PV system sees a non-uniform distribution of generated electrical power and thermal profile, and the generation of multiple maximum power points (MPPs). If left untreated, this reduces the overall power generation and severe faults may propagate resulting in damage to the system. In this paper, a thermal camera is employed for fault detection and a new MPPT scheme is developed to alter the operating point to match an optimized MPP. Extensive data mining is conducted on the images from the thermal camera in order to locate global MPPs. Based on this, a virtual MPPT is set out to find the global MPP. This can reduce MPPT time and be used to calculate the MPP reference voltage. Finally, the proposed methodology is experimentally implemented and validated by tests on a 600W PV array.

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Characterization of Power Optimizer Potential to Increase Energy Capture in Photovoltaic Systems Operating Under Nonuniform Conditions

Cited by 158 publications

References 16 publications

Differential diffusion charge redistribution for photovoltaic cell-level power balancing

Differential diffusion charge redistribution for photovoltaic cell-level power balancing

Reconfiguration technique for Optimization of the Photovoltaic array output power under partial shading conditions

Thermography-Based Virtual MPPT Scheme for Improving PV Energy Efficiency Under Partial Shading Conditions

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