Recent developments, challenges, and future scenarios in PV Array reconfiguration for mitigating partial shading

Abstract

Partial shading significantly reduces the performance of Photovoltaic systems, leading to hotspots and mismatch losses. One effective approach to minimize the negative impact of partial shading in PV systems is the PV array reconfiguration technique. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art developments in PV array reconfiguration techniques designed to address the problem of partial shading. The selected reconfiguration techniques are thoroughly discussed and categorized into two groups: Static and Dynamic, which are further divided into nine distinct subcategories. In addition to providing a detailed description of these techniques, a comparison is performed based on array size, algorithm complexity, response speed, outperforming methods, advantages, disadvantages, implementation cost, and applications range to help researchers and engineers choose the most suitable reconfiguration techniques for their specific applications. The study also discussed the implementation challenges and provided recommendations for further research direction.