Date of Publication :7th April 2015

Abstract: Use of electricity is increasing day by day.Converting solar energy into electrical energy is one of the best ways to reduce fossil fuel consumption. The solar irradiance and temperature are dynamic. Several studies suppose that more than 45% of the energy in the world will be generated by photovoltaic array.The electricity finds its application in all the domains. The main advantages of photovoltaic(PV)systems employed for harnessing solar energy are lack of greenhouse gas emission, low maintenance costs, fewer limitations with regard to site of installation and absence of mechanical noise arising from moving parts. PV systems suffer from relatively low conversion efficiency. Therefore, maximum power point tracking(MPPT)for the solar array is essential in a PV system.The nonlinear behavior of PV systems as well as variations of the maximum power point with solar irradiance level and temperature complicates the tracking of the maximum power point.A variety of MPPT methods have been proposed and implemented. Therefore a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique is needed to maximize the produced energy. A P&O method is the most simple, which moves the operating point toward the maximum power point periodically increasing or decreasing the PV array voltage.A Mat lab-Simulink based simulation study of PV cell/PV module/PV array is carried out and presented.

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