Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) based Maximum Power Point Tracking in a Solar PV based Generation System

Abstract

Global warming and energy crisis in the world for the last few decades have motivated the researchers to search for sustainable, alternative, and environmental friendly sources of energy. Among many available resources solar energy is one of the most suitable source of energy for bulk production of power by using solar photovoltaic system (PVS). As the overall operating efficiency of solar PVS is low, hence, it becomes very much essential to operate it at maximum power point for extracting maximum power from solar PVS irrespective of the environmental conditions. A metaheuristic based algorithm (Gravitational search) has been used in this paper to track the maximum power point under partial shading condition. A thorough simulation analysis is presented to validate the performance of the algorithm in tracking the optimal power point.