Modified Variable Step-Size Incremental Conductance MPPT Technique for Photovoltaic Systems

A highly efficient photovoltaic (PV) system requires a maximum power point tracker to extract peak power from PV modules. The conventional variable step-size incremental conductance (INC) maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique has two main drawbacks. First, it uses a pre-set scaling factor, which requires manual tuning under different irradiance levels. Second, it adapts the slope of the PV characteristics curve to vary the step-size, which means any small changes in PV module voltage will significantly increase the overall step-size. Subsequently, it deviates the operating point away from the actual reference. In this paper, a new modified variable step-size INC algorithm is proposed to address the aforementioned problems. The proposed algorithm consists of two parts, namely autonomous scaling factor and slope angle variation algorithm. The autonomous scaling factor continuously adjusts the step-size without using a pre-set constant to control the trade-off between convergence speed and tracking precision. The slope angle variation algorithm mitigates the impact of PV voltage change, especially during variable irradiance conditions to improve the MPPT efficiency. The theoretical investigations of the new technique are carried out while its practicability is confirmed by simulation and experimental results.