Systematic Evaluation of Photovoltaic MPPT Algorithms Using State-Space Models Under Different Dynamic Test Procedures

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms are essential in solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. In the last years, a major research effort has been made in order to get more efficient MPPT algorithms. However, in the literature, there is not a unique methodology for testing and comparing these kind of algorithms when facing dynamic irradiance conditions. This paper proposes a systematic way of evaluating and comparing MPPT algorithms for PV systems, at the simulation stage, unifying the following aspects: the PV system configuration, the type of simulation to be performed, and the dynamic irradiance tests to take into account. The MPPT algorithm is implemented into the dc-dc converter of the system for simplification purposes, simulations are carried out through state-space equations in order to reduce the total simulation time, and three irradiance dynamic tests are used systematically to provide full comparison under different environmental conditions. To test the flexibility of the proposed technique, a comparison of three commonly known Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithms has been performed, giving special attention to the MPPT drift phenomenon. All interested researchers can request a computer application that implements the proposed methodology.