Validation Analysis of Improved Skipping Algorithm for Photovoltaic Maximum Power Point Tracking System Under Partial Shading Conditions

The efficient and fast-tracking of the global maximum power point (GMPP) under partial shading conditions (PSCs) is one of the most significant goals of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms. This paper introduces an algorithm to identify the accurate range locations of the GMPP. A skipping MPPT algorithm is proposed to minimize the time consumed in tracking the GMPP. The proposed algorithm uses a skipping voltage method to minimize scanning the voltage range on the Power-Voltage (P-V) curve by neglecting the zones without GMPP. During GMPP tracking under PSCs, the automatic initial voltage generator algorithm ensures no overlap between two adjacent zones on the P-V curve. The proposed skipping algorithm guarantees that the GMPP is tracked accurately under all potential atmospheric circumstances with a shorter tracking time and the ability to find the GMPP quickly, minimizing the power loss. The improved performance of the proposed algorithm has been validated by simulation and experimental results on a PV string. From the results, the proposed MPPT algorithm has demonstrated its superiority in tracking the GMPP under PSCs in terms of accuracy and tracking speed compared to other MPPT algorithms. The proposed algorithm tracks the GMPP faster, with a time difference of Δt = 3.28 sec and Δt = 27 msec from the experimental and simulation results under PSCs. The proposed algorithm also successfully tracks the GMPP in the final zone, while the 0.8VOCM MPPT algorithm fails, which causes a high-power loss of 196 watts compared to the proposed skipping algorithm.