A novel global MPPT based on genetic algorithms for photovoltaic systems under the influence of partial shading

Abstract

This paper presents a novel maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm, based on genetic algorithms (GA). This algorithm is used for searching the global maximum power point (GMPP) for photovoltaic systems affected by partial shading. The “Perturb and Observe” (P&O) algorithm is embedded into the GA function for improving the optimisation process. By adding this functionality to the algorithm, the number of iterations and the population size is low, thus finding the MPP in a short time. Description of this algorithm and its performances will be detailed in this article, verified through simulation and experimental results.