Region of Operation Based Flexible Power Point Tracking Algorithm for PV Systems

During the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) operation of photovoltaics (PV), the operating point is locked at the maximum and there is no margin for active power reserve. This operation restrains the photovoltaics from participating in ancillary services. Thus, the flexible power point tracking (FPPT) operation is becoming more popular amongst PV researchers as this operates the PVs below the maximum power point (MPP). However, in FPPT, there is an ambiguity relating to the operation on right or left hand side of the MPP on the power versus voltage ($\mathrm{P}-\mathrm{V}$) curve, thus, in this paper, a region of operation based flexible power point tracking (ROPFPPT) algorithm is proposed which is capable of operating in both the regions. The command of region of operation is taken as input from the operator. The algorithm is implemented on a simple single stage configuration of PV system and is tested for two simulation scenarios, in the first scenario, flexible power point (FPP) power value is increased and the same is decreased in the second scenario. The ROP-FPPT is operated in both the regions for these simulation scenarios to analyze the optimal region of operation. The simulations of the developed model are carried out in the MATLAB software.