A Distributed Approach to Maximum Power Point Tracking for Photovoltaic Submodule Differential Power Processing

This paper presents the theory and implementation of a distributed algorithm for controlling differential power processing converters in photovoltaic (PV) applications. This distributed algorithm achieves true maximum power point tracking of series-connected PV submodules by relying only on local voltage measurements and neighbor-to-neighbor communication between the differential power converters. Compared to previous solutions, the proposed algorithm achieves reduced number of perturbations at each step and potentially faster tracking without adding extra hardware; all these features make this algorithm well-suited for long submodule strings. The formulation of the algorithm, discussion of its properties, as well as three case studies are presented. The performance of the distributed tracking algorithm has been verified via experiments, which yielded quantifiable improvements over other techniques that have been implemented in practice. Both simulations and hardware experiments have confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed distributed algorithm.

[1]  Charles R. Johnson,et al.  Matrix analysis , 1985, Statistical Inference for Engineers and Data Scientists.

[2]  Seth R. Sanders,et al.  Quantization resolution and limit cycling in digitally controlled PWM converters , 2001, 2001 IEEE 32nd Annual Power Electronics Specialists Conference (IEEE Cat. No.01CH37230).

[3]  Toshihisa Shimizu,et al.  Generation control circuit for photovoltaic modules , 2001 .

[4]  Robert W. Erickson,et al.  Fundamentals of Power Electronics , 2001 .

[5]  G.R. Walker,et al.  Cascaded DC-DC converter connection of photovoltaic modules , 2004, 2002 IEEE 33rd Annual IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.02CH37289).

[6]  H. Field,et al.  Cell binning method analysis to minimize mismatch losses and performance variation in Si-based modules , 2002, Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002..

[7]  Toshihisa Shimizu,et al.  A novel high-performance utility-interactive photovoltaic inverter system , 2003 .

[8]  Seth R. Sanders,et al.  Quantization resolution and limit cycling in digitally controlled PWM converters , 2003 .

[9]  Geoffrey R. Walker,et al.  Cascaded DC-DC converter connection of photovoltaic modules , 2004 .

[10]  Quan Li,et al.  A Review of the Single Phase Photovoltaic Module Integrated Converter Topologies With Three Different DC Link Configurations , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[11]  Massimo Vitelli,et al.  Distributed maximum power point tracking of photovoltaic arrays: Novel approach and system analysis , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[12]  Robert W. Erickson,et al.  Improved Energy Capture in Series String Photovoltaics via Smart Distributed Power Electronics , 2009, 2009 Twenty-Fourth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition.

[13]  Marcelo Gradella Villalva,et al.  Comprehensive Approach to Modeling and Simulation of Photovoltaic Arrays , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[14]  Robert W. Erickson,et al.  A Microinverter for Building-Integrated Photovoltaics , 2009, 2009 Twenty-Fourth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition.

[15]  Charles R. Sullivan,et al.  High-efficiency inverter for photovoltaic applications , 2010, 2010 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition.

[16]  A. Reis,et al.  Comparison of PV module performance before and after 11 and 20 years of field exposure , 2002, 2011 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference.

[17]  Bill Marion,et al.  Performance and Economic Analysis of Distributed Power Electronics in Photovoltaic Systems , 2011 .

[18]  O. Trescases,et al.  DC-DC converter for high granularity, sub-string MPPT in photovoltaic applications using a virtual-parallel connection , 2012, 2012 Twenty-Seventh Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC).

[19]  R. C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski,et al.  Submodule Integrated Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking for Solar Photovoltaic Applications , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[20]  R. C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski,et al.  Laboratory emulation of a photovoltaic module for controllable insolation and realistic dynamic performance , 2013, 2013 IEEE Power and Energy Conference at Illinois (PECI).

[21]  Jason T. Stauth,et al.  Multilevel Power-Point-Tracking for Variable-Conversion-Ratio Photovoltaic Ladder Converters , 2013, 2013 IEEE 14th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL).

[22]  D. Maksimovic,et al.  Architectures and Control of Submodule Integrated DC–DC Converters for Photovoltaic Applications , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[23]  P. T. Krein,et al.  Differential Power Processing for Increased Energy Production and Reliability of Photovoltaic Systems , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[24]  R. C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski,et al.  Field measurements of transient effects in photovoltaic panels and its importance in the design of maximum power point trackers , 2013, 2013 Twenty-Eighth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC).

[25]  R. C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski,et al.  Sub-module differential power processing for photovoltaic applications , 2013, 2013 Twenty-Eighth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC).

[26]  M. D. Seeman,et al.  Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converters for Sub-module Distributed Photovoltaic Power Management , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[27]  Henk Jan Bergveld,et al.  Module-Level DC/DC Conversion for Photovoltaic Systems: The Delta-Conversion Concept , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[28]  Bahman Gharesifard,et al.  Distributed Continuous-Time Convex Optimization on Weight-Balanced Digraphs , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.

[29]  Robert C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski,et al.  Dithering digital ripple correlation control with digitally-assisted windowed sensing for solar photovoltaic MPPT , 2014, 2014 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition - APEC 2014.

[30]  Robert C. N. Pilawa-Podgurski,et al.  Enhancing micro-inverter energy capture with sub-module differential power processing , 2014, 2014 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition - APEC 2014.

[31]  Christopher Barth.  Implementation of dithering digital ripple correlation control for photovoltaic maximum power point tracking with windowed sensing , 2015 .