Implementation of a modified SVPWM-based three-phase inverter with reduced switches using a single DC source for a grid-connected PV system

Abstract

Application of multilevel inverters has been an active research area in recent years due to their growing importance in various diversified electrical utilities. A three-phase inverter with a single DC source employing a three-phase transformer for a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system controlled using the modified space vector pulse width modulation technique (MSVPWM) for fifteen switches is presented in this paper. An MSVPWM technique is implemented through a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and generates high quality gate pulses to the switches in the inverter. The main advantages of the proposed inverter topology are reduced number of power switches, transformers and minimum total harmonic distortion (THD). The perturb and observe maximum power point algorithm is used to obtain the maximum power from the PV panel at all climatic conditions. The performance of the proposed system is validated through MATLAB/Simulink as well as an FPGA-based prototype model.