Power control strategy for photovoltaic system based on the Newton quadratic interpolation

Abstract

To maximise the economic benefit, photovoltaic (PV) systems in general operate in the so-called maximum power point tracking (MPPT) mode. However, in certain occasions (e.g. in a microgrid or in a weak system), it is beneficial for a PV system not to always operate in the MPPT mode, but occasionally in the power dispatch mode, because of the top priority of maintaining system stability. To this end, a Newton quadratic interpolation-based power control strategy for PV system is proposed to iteratively obtain the required terminal voltage of PV system by approximating the power-voltage characteristic curve with a quadratic curve. With this control strategy, PV systems can operate in the power dispatch mode to flexibly adjust the active power output in a wide range, or adaptively switch to the MPPT mode if necessary. Details on the convergence rate and the way to achieve the fault ride-through capability are also discussed. Simulation is performed based on a detailed PV dynamical model, illustrating that the proposed method has fast convergence rate and robust performance compared with a revised perturb and observe method which can attain the same function. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2014.