Comparison between the particle swarm optimisation and differential evolution approaches for the optimal proportional–integral controllers design during photovoltaic power plants modelling

Abstract

This study deals with photovoltaic power plant modelling and its integration within the distribution network. It presents a simulation model of a whole photovoltaic power plant including the solar cells, boost converter with maximal power point tracking, voltage‐oriented control and inductor‐capacitor‐inductor (LCL) filter. In such a sense, the applied inverter has many advantages such as a controllable power factor and sinusoidal input current, while the switching frequency of the power switch is relatively high. Therefore, it could cause high‐frequency harmonics around the switching frequency. The traditional way of solving these problems is the usage of LCL filters, where the basic requirement is to achieve sufficient filtering with inductor and capacitor values as small as possible. In addition, emphasis is given to a comparison between two optimisation methods – particle swarm optimisation and differential evolution that are used for the parameters of proportional–integral (PI) controllers determination. These PI controllers represent the main part of the voltage‐oriented control.