Enhanced Incremental Conductance Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithm for Photovoltaic System in Variable Conditions

Abstract

The incremental conductance method is susceptible to overshoot, oscillation, convergence errors, and the inability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions; therefore, innovation is required to ensure that this algorithm operates efficiently. This study investigates how the incremental conductance algorithm can be modified to enhance its performance, particularly in situations involving rapid environmental changes. The algorithm's performance is evaluated through simulation and subsequently compared to conventional methods and incremental conductance methods developed by previous researchers to determine how much performance increase can be achieved using the modified algorithm. The simulation results show that the second improved technique may significantly eliminate oscillations during maximum power point (MPP) tracking while also speeding up the convergence time. The results reveal that the proposed algorithm achieves an efficiency of 98.83%, which is higher than the conventional and first modified algorithms, which have efficiency values of 92.04% and 97.84%, respectively. Therefore, the second modification outperforms the other algorithms in terms of oscillation and efficiency.