A new maximum power point tracking method for photovoltaic applications based on finite control set model predictive control

Abstract

This paper proposes a new Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) method based on the concept of Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC) for Photovoltaic (PV) applications. The proposed method uses the measured PV current and power data from previous steps to predict the power in the next step correspondent to various possible switching configurations of the power converter. Then it applies the switching configuration which results in increase in the produced power by the PV array. Simulation results are provided to verify operation of the proposed method and compare it with the traditional Perturb and Observe (P&O) method.