A Modified P &O- MPPT Technique for Photovoltaic Power Systems

PV systems face challenges in efficiently harnessing solar energy, primarily due to the influence of weather fluctuations. This study aims to enhance the efficiency of the traditional Perturb and Observe (P&O) Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) method by tackling the frequent issue of oscillations near the Maximum Power Point (MPP). A modified P&O technique is introduced to enhance MPPT performance under varying weather conditions. This new method enhances tracking convergence speed by adjusting the duty cycle perturbation step size. MATLAB/Simulink was utilized to simulate the method, which was subsequently validated through a series of experimental trials at different irradiance levels. Employing a boost converter with a 0.05 s sampling period enabled this achievement. The experimental findings validated the successful implementation of the proposed method, demonstrating an average tracking time of 0.5 s and maintaining an average efficiency of 99.9%. Additionally, a comparison was made between the suggested algorithm and the SOFT-MPPT method, which was just released, as well as the conventional P&O algorithm. The comparison's results supported the suggested algorithm's effectiveness.