Performance Enhancement of Grid Connected PV System Using Soft Computing Based MPPT Technique

Abstract

Energy is considered a prime aspect in economic development of a country. Limited fossil resources and environmental issues associated with it diverted the interest towards the renewable energy sources from conventional energy resources. The increasing content of carbon dioxide in the air is mostly due to the burning of fossil fuels, which increases global warming issues. Electricity is one of the most vital needs for human beings in their day to day life. Electricity generation from fossil fuels increases the environmental issues, which makes the whole world to move forward towards renewable energy sources for generation of electricity. Out of various renewable sources solar energy got a wide acceptance due to its less maintenance and easy implementation compare to others. Rooftop PV setup is a very interesting and economical aspect for PV installation at consumer premises, where the customer generates its own electricity and the surplus amount of power is fed to grid. This power transfer reduces grid burden and the consumer can get a reduction in electricity bill according to the agreement done with the utility. Though PV system has numerous advantages still it possesses some downside in its installation such as high initial cost, required high voltage gain converter as the output is very low and efficient maximum power point tracker (MPPT) is very necessary to make the PV system provide power supply to its optimum. This research work aims to improve PV power delivery by using different MPPT techniques and power converters. It also emphasizes on grid-connected PV system operation. A smooth power transition between grid-connected mode to islanding mode and vice-versa is required to provide continuity in power supply for critical loads newline