IMPROVING SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS’ PERFORMANCE UNDER PARTIAL SHADING
The current global energy crisis has driven the need for renewable and sustainable energy sources. Renewable sources of energy, such as hydropower, wind, and solar play a vital part in meeting energy demand. Energy from the sun (solar) remains the most feasible renewable energy source for the generation of electricity in Libya due to its availability throughout the year at excellent irradiation levels. This work is designed to evaluate the impact of partial shade on the Photovoltaic (PV) systems and how to overcome it, as well as propose a correct PV array arrangement for optimal energy generation to supply DC loads. This paper addressed many strategies for “Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms”, such as fuzzy logic control, neural networks, open circuit voltage, perturb and observe, short circuit current, etc. The proposed MPPT algorithm aimed to determine the suitable duty ratio for operating the buck-boost converter to achieve maximum power output. In this work, the MPPT with perturb and observe method is employed, resulting in a significant increase in PV system efficiency. The power and voltage ratings of the PV module employed in this study were 230 watts and 29.9 volts. The PV output voltage can be doubled by using a boost converter. Matlab/Simulink software was also used to simulate the PV system; the simulation results demonstrated that the suggested algorithm can track the global MPP efficiently.
Renewable Energy, Performance, Algorithms, Photovoltaic System, Shading.