Artificial Intelligence and Bio-Inspired Soft Computing-Based Maximum Power Plant Tracking for a Solar Photovoltaic System under Non-Uniform Solar Irradiance Shading Conditions—A Review

Amjad Ali, Kashif Irshad, Mohammad Farhan Khan, Md Moinul Hossain, Ibrahim N. A. Al-Duais and Muhammad Zeeshan Malik
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Amjad Ali: Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems (IRC-REPS), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Kashif Irshad: Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems (IRC-REPS), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Farhan Khan: School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK
Md Moinul Hossain: School of Engineering, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NT, UK
Ibrahim N. A. Al-Duais: Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Zeeshan Malik: School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-26

Abstract: Substantial progress in solar photovoltaic (SPV) dissemination in grid-connected and standalone power generation systems has been witnessed during the last two decades. However, weather intermittency has a non-linear characteristic impact on solar photovoltaic output, which can cause considerable loss in the system’s overall output. To overcome these inevitable losses and optimize the SPV output, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is mounted in the middle of the power electronics converters and SPV to achieve the maximum output with better precision from the SPV system under intermittent weather conditions. As MPPT is considered an essential part of the SPV system, up to now, many researchers have developed numerous MPPT techniques, each with unique features. A Google Scholar survey from 2015–2021 was performed to scrutinize the number of published review papers in this area. An online search established that on different MPPT techniques, overall, 100 review articles were published; out of these 100, seven reviews on conventional MPPT techniques under shading or partial shading and only four under non-uniform solar irradiance are published. Unfortunately, no dedicated review article has explicitly focused on soft computing MPPT (SC-MPPT) techniques. Therefore, a comprehensive review of articles on SC-MPPT techniques is desirable, in which almost all the familiar SC-MPPT techniques have to be summarized in one piece. This review article concentrates explicitly on soft computing-based MPPT techniques under non-uniform irradiance conditions along with their operating principles, block/flow diagram. It will not only be helpful for academics and researchers to provide a future direction in SC-MPPT optimization research, but also help the field engineers to select the appropriate SC-MPPT for SPV according to system design and environmental conditions.

Keywords: maximum power point tracking (MPPT); soft computing; solar photovoltaic (SPV); non-uniform solar irradiance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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