Design and Development of Maximum Power Point Tracking for Picohydro in Renewable Energy Harvesting Hybrid Systems

Abstract

This prototype is designed to collect energy from Picohydro Power Plants in the PEM Akamigas Solar Pump (PEMASOL) research. There are three picohydro units used to convert water flow into electrical energy. The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) function is to process the energy generated by the picohydro units and charge the battery. An INA219 sensor is installed at the input and output of the MPPT to measure voltage, current, and power parameters generated and processed by the picohydro units and MPPT. The MPPT uses a Single-Ended Primary Inductor Converter (SEPIC) as a DC/DC converter to convert energy from the picohydro units. The SEPIC consists of a 100 ? H inductor, a 100 ? F capacitor, an IRF 540N transistor, and a 1N5392 diode. The energy conversion process in the MPPT is controlled by an ESP-32 microcontroller, which regulates pulse signals using the Incremental Conductance (INC) Algorithm to achieve the maximum power point of the energy generated by the picohydro units. The ESP-32 and INA219 sensors are connected using the MicroPython programming language, and the data read and processed by the ESP-32 is displayed on an OLED screen. During testing, the duty cycle operating on the SEPIC was found to have a range of 10% to 45%, resulting in an input voltage of 14.6 V for the battery with a current of 0.03 mA and an optimum power of 290 mW with gradual duty cycle increments, and a maximum power point of 210 mW with the INC algorithm on the Picohydro