Maximum power point tracking of photovoltaic system using Fuzzy Logic Controller based boost converter

Abstract

Recently, the energy crisis in the world has led to the rise in use of renewable energy sources. With the advancement in power electronics technology, the solar photovoltaic energy has been recognized as an important renewable energy resource because it is clean, abundant and pollution free. The efficiency of the photovoltaic system may be increased by using Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT). A number of algorithms are developed to track the maximum power point efficiently. Most of the existing MPPT algorithms suffer from the drawback of being slow or wrong tracking. Introduction of intelligent MPPTs in PV systems is very promising. The current paper proposes an intelligent control method for the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of a photovoltaic system under variable insolation conditions. Here in this paper, intelligent control method uses a Fuzzy Logic Controller applied to a DC-DC converter device. The result is compared with the results obtained by using P&O method. The effectiveness of proposed algorithm is validated by simulation using Matlab/Simulink and is compared to those obtained by the conventional methods. The result shows that the fuzzy logic controller exhibits a better performance compared to that of conventional method.