A Centralized Multi-String PV System Control with Multi-Dimensional MPPT Control

Abstract

This paper proposes an improved Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control for the inverter's photovoltaic (PV) string connection. This is achieved by replacing MPPT control microcontrollers across each PV string with a single central microcontroller controlling all PV strings' Maximum Power Point (MPP). The proposed system, in addition to making the PV string system more power efficient, also reduces the overall system cost. However, replacing multiple controllers across each string with a single central controller makes the MPPT problem multi-dimensional, increasing the complexity. To solve this, we first used the Jaya algorithm for solving the multi-dimensional MPPT problem. Then, the proposed Multi-Dimensional MPPT (MDMPPT) Jaya is compared to another metaheuristic, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and a conventional algorithm, the Perturb and Observe (P&O). The results prove the superiority of the proposed Jaya algorithm over PSO and P&O.