An adaptive model-based MPPT technique with drift-avoidance for grid-connected PV systems

In this article, a modified control structure for a single-stage three phase grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system is presented. In the proposed system, the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) function is developed using a new adaptive model-based technique, in which the maximum power point (MPP) voltage can be precisely located based on the characteristics of the PV source. By doing so, the drift problem associated with the traditional perturb and observe (P&O) technique can be easily solved. Moreover, the inverter control is accomplished using a predictive dead-beat function, which directly estimates the required reference voltages from the commanded reference currents. Then, the reference voltages are applied to a space vector pulse width modulator (SVPWM) for switching state generation. Furthermore, the proposed inverter control avoids the conventional and known cascaded loop structure of the voltage oriented control (VOC) method by elimination of the outer PI controller, and hence the overall control strategy is simplified. The proposed system is compared with different MPPT techniques, including the conventional P&O method and other techniques intended for drift avoidance. The evaluation of the suggested control methodology depends on various radiation profiles created in MATLAB. The proposed technique succeeds at capturing the maximum available power from the PV source with no drift in comparison with other methods.