Moving Photovoltaic (PV) Installations: Impacts of the Solar Radiation Level on the Output Power

Abstract

This paper investigates the potential output power of moving photovoltaic (PV) installations. In particular, we focus on the impacts of the solar radiation level on the available output power of PV installations on top of moving objects. We discuss the situation for controlling the operating voltage of photovoltaics installed on top of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). We demonstrate that different longitudinal angles of PV cells due to curved roof surfaces and the fast slopes of the solar radiation level have a significant impact on the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. We illustrate how the solar radiation level can reduce the efficiency of the MPPT algorithms.