This thesis deals with quantifying the merits of Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking (DMPPT), as well as providing solutions to achieve DMPPT in PV systems. A general method based on 3D modeling is developed to determine the energy yield of PV installations exploiting different levels of DMPPT granularity. Sub-string-level DMPPT is shown to have up to 30% more annual energy yield than panel-level DMPPT. A Multi-Input-Single-Output (MISO) dc-dc converter is proposed to achieve DMPPT in parallel-connected applications. A digital current-mode controller is used to operate the MISO converter in pseudo-CCM mode. For series-connected applications, the virtualparallel concept is introduced to utilize the robustness of the parallel connection. This concept is demonstrated on a three-phase boost converter. The topology offers reduced output voltage ripple under shading which increases the life-time of the output capacitor. The prototypes yield output power benefits of up to 46% and 20% for the tested shading conditions.

This master work was focused on modelling and investigation of a photovoltaic module which operates in non-uniform solar irradiance and temperature changes which is typical to Lithuanian climate. 60 polycrystalline silicon cells were used to model photovoltaic module. Matlab®/Simulink® was used for modelling and calculating the whole system. To generate solar insolation curve, the latitude, longitude of the geographic place and a number of days in a year have to be selected. Buck-boost DC-DC converter and hill-climbing maximum power point tracking algorithm was used to produce maximum power point of the photovoltaic module. Modeled system has reached 93.95 % of maximum power from the photovoltaic module. Structure: introduction, review of maximum power point algorithms, system modelling, research results, conclusions, references. The thesis consists of: 60 pages, 41 figures, 16 tables, 37 references. Appendixes included. / Šiame magistro darbe buvo sumodeliuotas ir ištirtas fotovoltinio modulio veikimas, veikiant Lietuvoje būdingiems saulės apšvietos ir temperatūros pokyčiams. Fotovoltinį modulį sudaro 60 polikristalinių silicio celių sujungtų nuosekliai sistema. Modeliavimui ir skaičiavimas atlikti buvo naudojamas Matlab®/Simulink® programinės įrangos paketas. Įvedus vietos ilgumą, platumą ir pasirinkus metų dieną sugeneruojama saulės apšvietos kreivė paros bėgyje. Išgauti maksimalią galią iš fotovoltinio elemento buvo pasirinkta „buck-boost“ tipo įtampos keitiklis ir „Kalno-kilimo“ didžiausios galios taško algoritmas. Naudojant pasirinkto tipo įtampos keitiklį ir algoritmą galima pasiekti iki 93,95 % maksimalios galios. Darbą sudaro 7 dalys: įvadas, maksimalios galios algoritmų literatūros apžvalga, sistemos modeliavimas, maksimalios galios algoritmo sudarymas, rezultatai, išvados, literatūros sąrašas. Darbo apimtis 60 puslapiai, 2 priedai, 41 iliustracijų 16 lentelių, 37 bibliografiniai šaltiniai.

M. Tech. (Department of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology) --Vaal University of Technology| / Global warming is of increasing concern due to several greenhouse gases. The combustion of fossil fuels is the major contributor to the greenhouse effect. To minimalise this effect, alternative energy sources have to be considered. Alternative energy sources should not only be environmentally friendly, but also renewable and/or sustainable. Two such alternative energy sources are hydrogen and solar energy. The regenerative fuel cell, commonly known as a hydrogen generator, is used to produce hydrogen. The current solar/hydrogen system at the Vaal University of Technology’s Telkom Centre of Excellence makes use of PV array to supply power to an inverter and the inverter is connected to the hydrogen generator. The inverter provides the hydrogen generator with 220VAC. The hydrogen generator has its own power supply unit to convert the AC power back to DC power. This reduces the efficiency of the system because there will be power loss when converting DC power to AC power and back to DC power. The hydrogen generator, however, could be powered directly from a PV array. However, the hydrogen generator needs specific input parameters in order to operate. Three different input voltages with their own current rating are required by the hydrogen generator to operate properly. Thus, a DC-DC power supply unit needs to be designed to be able to output these parameters to the hydrogen generator. It is also important to note that current PV panel efficiency is very low; therefore, the DC-DC power supply unit also needs to extract the maximum available power from the PV array. In order for the DC-DC power supply unit to be able to extract this maximum power, a maximum power point tracking algorithm needs to be implemented into the design. The DC-DC power supply is designed as a switch mode power supply unit. The reason for this is that the efficiency of a switch mode power supply is higher than that of a linear power supply. To reach the objective the following methodology was followed. The first part of the research provided an introduction to PV energy, charge controllers and hydrogen generators. The problem statement is included as well as the purpose of this research and how this research was to be carried out. The second part is the literature review. This includes the background study of algorithms implemented in MPPT’s; it also explains in detail how to design the MPPT DC-DC SMPS. The third part was divided into two sections. The first section is the design, programming and manufacturing of the MPPT DC-DC SMPS. The second section is the simulation of the system as a whole which is the simulation of the PV array connected to the MPPT DC-DC SMPS and the hydrogen generator. The fourth part in the research compared the results obtained in the simulation and practical setup. The last part of the research provided a conclusion along with recommendation made for further research. The simulation results showed that the system works with an efficiency of 40,84%. This is lower than expected but the design can be optimised to increase efficiency. The practical results showed the efficiency to be 38%. The reason for the lower efficiency is the simulation used ideal components and parameters, whereas the practical design has power losses due to the components not being ideal. The design of the DC-DC switch mode power supply, however, indicated that the hydrogen generator could be powered from a PV array without using an inverter, with great success.

Microgrids containing photovoltaic (PV) cells and wind power gain more and more interest. These microgrids may work in stand-alone mode ("islanding") or be conncted to the main grid. In both modes of operation, power quality must be monitored and controlled. This report focuses on microgrids and aims to implement a monitoring system based on FPGA. In the monitoring system, two applications can be achieved, firstly a PAS-MPPT algorithm in a DC-DC boost converter to improve the maximun power point tracking of a PV unit, and secondly a detection and switching system of the grid mode - stand-alone or connected to the main grid. Simulation results prove the Verilog programs in FPGA are suitable to be used in microgrids.

In this thesis the integration of photovolatic (PV) generation and energy storage into the electrical grid is discussed. Although the studied system is for grid tied applications, here the integration of the PV generation and the energy storage system (ESS) on the DC-side of the system is addressed. The work contained in this thesis focuses on the integration of the DC-working parts before interfacing them with the grid through the use of an inverter and seeks an increasing in the energy that the system can deliver.First, a study of classical systems that present well-differentiated parts is presented: PV generation, a lithium-ion battery based ESS, the utility grid and a residential electricity consumer. PV installations of 3 and 10kWp are considered together with storage capacities ranging from 1 to 9kWh. This yields interesting insights on how the system works based on the timing of the generation and consumption of energy. The results are used to highlight the weaknesses of the selected converter arrangement for the interfacing of the PV source and the ESS. Results show that the system is rather stiff and lacks from conversion efficiency when it needs to work in a wide range of powers, mainly due to low consumer power demand during battery discharge. In this first part of the thesis, three solutions to workaround the efficiency problem are proposed: reducing the difference between the ESS and the DC-bus voltages, using isolated converters to interface the ESS, or adopting a new arrangement of the parts of the system. One of the first two proposed solutions should be adopted if the same system topology is to be kept. These two solutions address the efficiency problem when the ESS is involved in the energy conversion. The third solution is proposed as alternative to the classical systems that use a DC-bus to exchange power with the different parts of the system. The new proposed arrangement features a distributed maximum power point (DMPPT) type system that includes storage at module level. DMPPT systems are able to track the maximum power point (MPPT) of each panel separately by connecting a small power electronic converter (PEC) to each PV panel. They are specially useful when the PV installation receives uneven irradiance, i.e. shadows are present in some of the panels, increasing the annual yield of PV energy from 7 to 30% as reported in the literature. Unfortunately, this kind of systems cannot always handle high irradiance mismatches, and fail to track the maximum power point (MPP) throughout the whole installation in some cases. Including batteries at module level instead of connecting them to the DC-bus, allows for increasing the MPPT range of the system, virtually to any severity of irradiance mismatch (depending on the state of charge (SoC) of the battery pack), as well as adding storage capability to the system. The novel proposed system is able to workaround the problems of using non-isolated converters, achieving PV energy conversion efficiencies from 86% (for at least 10% of the peak power) to 90% and storage charge/discharge efficiencies ranging from 86% to 95%. Besides, it brings the opportunity to exploit the synergies of having storage at module level in systems that combine renewable energies and storage. Moreover, DMPPT systems achieve superior PV generation under partially shaded conditions when compared to classical PV arrays increasing the PV generation when compared to classical or centralized PV installations up to 45% in power as reported in the literature.In the second part of the thesis, the proposed novel DMPPT topology is presented. The whole system is fully designed from scratch, including PECs, sizing of the different parts of the modules, embedded control loops of the modules and supervisory control of the whole system. Finally, the results obtained from running the proposed system are shown and discussed, and suggestions given on how to operate and protect the system. Experimental results are obtained using a 1.5kWp PV power and 1.5kWh capacity test bench built for that purpose.The proposed system is able to generate PV energy, store the energy coming from PV generation and inject the generated and stored energy into the grid. The proposed system extends the MPPT capability of storage-less series-connected DMPPT systems. This is achieved by using the batteries not only to store energy when required, but also to compensate the power mismatch across DMPPT modules of the same string when the output voltage of the modules becomes a limit. It also presents a modular and upgradable approach to PV systems including storage. This modularity also brings fault tolerance, and an ability to continue working after failure of one or more of the DMPPT modules by partially or completely isolating the faulty module (depending on the nature of the fault). Moreover, the addition of the DC-DC converters allows for the use of different PV panels in the system, i.e. from different manufacturers or technologies.In conclusion, the presented system is very flexible, can be designed for a wide range of power levels and energy storage sizes, and presents improved reliability when compared to other series-connected DMPPT systems. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Este trabalho propÃe o desenvolvimento de uma fonte de alimentaÃÃo portÃtil para notebooks e outros equipamentos eletrÃnicos usando energia fotovoltaica. O sistema completo à composto por dois mÃdulos fotovoltaicos poli-cristalinos de 54W conectados em paralelo; um conversor boost clÃssico usado para controlar a carga das baterias de chumbo-Ãcido reguladas a vÃlvula (VRLA-Valve Regulated Lead Acid) de 40 Ah associadas em sÃrie formando um barramento de 24Vcc e um conversor boost-flyback que tem a funÃÃo de elevar a tensÃo do banco de baterias de 24Vcc a uma tensÃo de saÃda de 250Vcc. O conversor boost utiliza o algoritmo perturba e observa (P&O) para conseguir o ponto de mÃxima potÃncia dos mÃdulos fotovoltaicos. Por outro lado, no conversor boost-flyback que opera em modo de conduÃÃo contÃnua (MCC) à usada a tÃcnica de controle por corrente de pico. Para verificar o princÃpio de funcionamento da fonte de alimentaÃÃo de dois estÃgios, o primeiro estÃgio foi desenvolvido com potÃncia de saÃda de 120W e o segundo estÃgio com potÃncia de saÃda de 200W. / This study proposes the development of a portable power supply to feed notebook computers and other electronic equipment using photovoltaic energy. The complete system is composed by two polycrystalline photovoltaic modules of 54W in parallel, a classic boost converter that allows to work the photovoltaic modules in the maximum power point (MPP) and to charge two lead-acid valve regulated batteries (VRLA Valve-Regulated Lead Acid) of 40Ah associates in series to form a bus of 24Vcc, and a boost-flyback converter that has as function to raise the battery bank voltage of 24Vcc to output voltage of 250Vcc. The boost converter uses the algorithm perturb and observe (P&O) to track the maximum power point of the photovoltaic modules. On the other hand, in the boost-flyback converter operates in continuous conduction mode (CCM) using peak current mode control technique to regulate the output voltage. To verify the feasibility of the two stage power supply, was developed a prototype with first stage of 120W output power, and the second stage of 200W output power.

Photovoltaic installations in urban areas operate under uneven lighting conditions. For such a system to achieve its peak efficiency, each solar panel is connected in series through a micro-converter, a dc-dc converter that performs per-panel distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT). The objective of this thesis is to design a compensator for the DMPPT micro-converter. A novel, systematic approach to plant modeling is presented for this system, together with a framework for characterizing the plant’s uncertainty. A robust control design procedure based on linear matrix inequalities is then proposed, which ensures robust performance and stability of the time-varying system. The proposed modeling and control design methods are demonstrated for an example rooftop photovoltaic installation. The system and the designed compensator are tested in simulations. Simulation results show satisfactory performance over a range of operating conditions, and the simulated system is shown to track the maximum power point of every panel.

Photovoltaic installations in urban areas operate under uneven lighting conditions. For such a system to achieve its peak efficiency, each solar panel is connected in series through a micro-converter, a dc-dc converter that performs per-panel distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT). The objective of this thesis is to design a compensator for the DMPPT micro-converter. A novel, systematic approach to plant modeling is presented for this system, together with a framework for characterizing the plant’s uncertainty. A robust control design procedure based on linear matrix inequalities is then proposed, which ensures robust performance and stability of the time-varying system. The proposed modeling and control design methods are demonstrated for an example rooftop photovoltaic installation. The system and the designed compensator are tested in simulations. Simulation results show satisfactory performance over a range of operating conditions, and the simulated system is shown to track the maximum power point of every panel.

The wind turbine generation system (WTGS) exhibits a nonlinear characteristic and its maximum power point varies with changing atmospheric conditions. In order to operate the WTGS at maximum power output under various wind speeds and to avoid using speed encoder in practical applications, it is necessary to improve the controller system to operate the maximum power points in the WTGS. There are three factors to influence wind generator, the wind speed, power coefficient and the radius of blade. The power coefficient depends on the blade pitch angle and tip speed ratio (TSR). The objective of the dissertation is to develop an intelligent controlled wind energy conversion system (WECS) using AC/DC and DC/AC power converters for grid-connected power application. To achieve a fast and stable response for the real power control, an intelligent controller was proposed, which consists of a fuzzy neural network (FNN), a recurrent fuzzy neural network (RFNN), a wilcoxcon radial basis function network (WRBFN) and a improved Elman neural network (IENN) for MPPT. Furthermore, the parameter of the developed FNN, RFNN, WRBFN and IENN are trained on-line using back-propagation learning algorithm. However, the learning rates in the FNN, RFNN, WRBFN, and IENN are usually selected by trial and error method, which is time-consuming. Therefore, modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) method is adopted to adjust the learning rates to improve the learning capability of the developed RFNN, WRBFN and IENN. Moreover, presents the estimation of the rotor speed is based on the sliding mode and model reference adaptive system (MRAS) speed observer theory. Furthermore, a sensorless vector-control strategy for an induction generator (IG) operating in a grid-connected variable speed wind energy conversion system can be achieved. On the other hand, a WRBFN based with hill-climb searching (HCS) maximum-power-point-tracking (MPPT) strategy is proposed for permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) with a variable speed wind turbine. Finally, many simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed intelligent control wind generation systems.

The declining cost of photovoltaic (PV) modules has enabled the vision of ubiquitous photovoltaic (PV) power to become feasible. Emerging PV technologies are facilitating the creation of intentionally non-flat PV modules, which create new applications for this sustainable energy generation currently not possible with the traditional rigid, flat silicon-glass modules. However, since the photovoltaic cells are no longer coplanar, there are significant new requirements for the power electronics necessary to convert the native form of electricity into a usable form and ensure maximum energy harvest. Non-uniform insolation from cell-to-cell gives rise to non-uniform current density in the PV material, which limits the ability to create series-connected cells without bypass diode or other ways to shunt current, which is well known in the maximum power tracking literature. This thesis presents a modeling approach to determine and quantify the variations in generation of energy due to intentionally non-flat PV geometries. This will enable the power electronics circuitry to be optimized to harvest maximum energy from PV pixel elements – clusters of PV cells with similar operating characteristics. This thesis systematically compares different geometries with identical two-dimensional projection "footprints" for energy harvest throughout the day. The results show that for the same footprint, a semi-cylindrical surface harvests more energy over a typical day than a flat plate. The modeling approach is then extended to demonstrate that by using non flat geometries for PV panel, the availability of a remotely located stand-alone power system can be increased when compared to a flat panel of same footprint. These results have broad application to a variety of energy scavenging scenarios in which either total energy harvested needs to be maximized or unusual geometries for the PV active surfaces are required, including building-integrated PV. This thesis develops the analysis of the potential energy harvest gain for advanced non-planar PV collectors as a necessary first step towards the design of the power electronics circuits and control algorithms to take advantage of the new opportunities of conformal and non-flat PV collectors.