Hybrid and Adaptive P&O Maximum Power Point Tracking Techniques for PV Generation Systems

Abstract

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques work to track the maximum power from the PV cell. A lot of conventional MPPT techniques, such as the perturb and observe (P&O), succeed in catch the maximum power point (MPP) with a good performance. However, they suffer many problems during fast varying weather conditions, where slow time response and high oscillations are dominant. Also, it is difficult to select the right direction for new steps. This article illustrates two new P&O MPPT techniques for PV generation systems. They operate on the power-voltage (P-V) curve under different weather conditions. The first is an adaptive perturb and observe (A-PO) technique, which changes the perturbation step-size adeptly to deal with the rapidly varying weather conditions. The second is a hybrid perturb and observe technique (H-PO), which uses a variable step-size according to the location of the operating point relative to the MPP. The MATLAB/SIMULINK software is used to study the truth of the proposed techniques. The results demonstrate that both techniques attain the MPP faster than the conventional techniques and at a reduced oscillation rate.