A nature based novel maximum power point tracking algorithm for partial shading conditions

Introduction. The huge demand of green energy over past few decades have drawn the interest of scientists and researchers. Solar energy is the most abundant and easily available source but there have been so many problems with its optimum extraction of output. The factors affecting the maximum power point tracking of PV systems are input irradiance, temperature, load etc. The variations in irradiance level lead to partial shading that causes reduction in performance by not letting system to operate at maximum power point. Many methods have been proposed in literature to optimize the performance of PV systems but each method has shortcomings that have failed all of them. The actual problem occurs when partial shading is very strong; this is where most of the methods totally fail. So proposed work addresses this issue and solves it to the fullest. The novelty in the proposed work is that it introduces a new nature-based algorithm that works on the principle of plant propagation. It is a natural optimization technique that plants follow to survive and propagate in different environmental conditions. The proposed method efficiently tracks the global peak under all shading conditions and is simple to implement with high accuracy and tracking speed. Purpose. Building an algorithm that can track global peak of photovoltaic systems under all shading conditions and extracts the maximum possible power from the system, and is simple and easy to implement. Methods. The method is implemented in MATLAB / Simulink on an electrical model that uses a PV array model. Different shadings are applied to check for the results. Results. The results have shown that for different photovoltaic configurations the algorithm performs very good under uniform and partial shadings conditions. Its accuracy, tracking efficiency and tracking time has increased reasonably. Practical value. The project can be very beneficial to people as it enhances the performances of PV systems that can make them self-sufficient in electrical energy, focuses on sustainable development and reduces pollution. This way it can have huge impact on human life.