Efficiency Improvement of Nonuniformly Aged PV Arrays

Hu, Y; Zhang, J; Wu, J; Cao, W; Tian, GY; Kirtley, JL

Efficiency Improvement of Nonuniformly Aged PV Arrays

Hu, Y Zhang, J

Wu, J Cao, W Tian, GY Kirtley, JL

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Publisher:: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 2017, 32, (2), pp. 1124-1137
Issue Date:: 2017-02-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Hu, Y
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, J https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2616-6722
dc.contributor.author	Wu, J
dc.contributor.author	Cao, W
dc.contributor.author	Tian, GY
dc.contributor.author	Kirtley, JL
dc.date.accessioned	2022-09-13T06:07:01Z
dc.date.available	2022-09-13T06:07:01Z
dc.date.issued	2017-02-01
dc.identifier.citation	IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 2017, 32, (2), pp. 1124-1137
dc.identifier.issn	0885-8993
dc.identifier.issn	1941-0107
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/161787
dc.description.abstract	The utilization of solar energy by photovoltaic (PV) systems has received much research and development attention across the globe. In the past decades, a large number of PV array have been installed. Since the installed PV arrays often operate in harsh environments, nonuniform aging can occur and impact adversely on the performance of PV systems, especially in the middle and late periods of their service life. Due to the high cost of replacing aged PV modules by new modules, it is appealing to improve energy efficiency of aged PV systems. For this purpose, this paper presents a PV module reconfiguration strategy to achieve the maximum power generation from nonuniformly aged PV arrays without significant investment. The proposed reconfiguration strategy is based on the cell-unit structure of PV modules, the operating voltage limit of grid-connected converter, and the resulted bucket effect of the maximum short-circuit current. The objectives are to analyze all the potential reorganization options of the PV modules, find the maximum power point, and express it in a proposition. This proposition is further developed into a novel implementable algorithm to calculate the maximum power generation and the corresponding reconfiguration of the PV modules. The immediate benefits from this reconfiguration are the increased total power output and maximum power point voltage information for global maximum power point tracking. A PV array simulation model is used to illustrate the proposed method under three different cases. Furthermore, an experimental rig is built to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method will open an effective approach for condition-based maintenance of emerging aging PV arrays.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
dc.relation.ispartof	IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1109/TPEL.2016.2544842
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
dc.subject.classification	Electrical & Electronic Engineering
dc.title	Efficiency Improvement of Nonuniformly Aged PV Arrays
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	32
utslib.for	0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Electrical and Data Engineering
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2022-09-13T06:07:00Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	32
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

The utilization of solar energy by photovoltaic (PV) systems has received much research and development attention across the globe. In the past decades, a large number of PV array have been installed. Since the installed PV arrays often operate in harsh environments, nonuniform aging can occur and impact adversely on the performance of PV systems, especially in the middle and late periods of their service life. Due to the high cost of replacing aged PV modules by new modules, it is appealing to improve energy efficiency of aged PV systems. For this purpose, this paper presents a PV module reconfiguration strategy to achieve the maximum power generation from nonuniformly aged PV arrays without significant investment. The proposed reconfiguration strategy is based on the cell-unit structure of PV modules, the operating voltage limit of grid-connected converter, and the resulted bucket effect of the maximum short-circuit current. The objectives are to analyze all the potential reorganization options of the PV modules, find the maximum power point, and express it in a proposition. This proposition is further developed into a novel implementable algorithm to calculate the maximum power generation and the corresponding reconfiguration of the PV modules. The immediate benefits from this reconfiguration are the increased total power output and maximum power point voltage information for global maximum power point tracking. A PV array simulation model is used to illustrate the proposed method under three different cases. Furthermore, an experimental rig is built to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method will open an effective approach for condition-based maintenance of emerging aging PV arrays.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/161787