GA SMC Technique for Photovoltaic Systems under Non Homogenous Meteorological Conditions

When the photovoltaic sources are subjected to the partial shading (PS) effect, the PV modules are consequently subjected to the different levels of the irradiation. Indeed, when the phenomenon of the partial shading occurs, the Power-Voltage curve of the PV panel presents several points of maximum power. These points are divided between local and global, where the global maximum point presents the superior maximum, and the local maximum points present the inferior maximums compared to the global one. In fact, the classical Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques can not distinguish the global maximum power point, but can track only the first maximum found at the right hand of the Power-Voltage curve. Thus, in some cases, the classical techniques can cause the high drop of power. To solve this issue, this paper proposes a new approach based on the genetic algorithm (GA), because of its ability to optimize the solar panels’ output power production under the PSC. This optimization method is combined with the robust Sliding Mode Controller (SMC). Here, the GA is used in order to locate and generate the reference voltage corresponding to the global maximum power. While the sliding mode controller is used in order to track the reference voltage by acting on the duty cycle of the SEPIC converter. To examine the performance of the proposed method, the comparison with some hybrid controller, which are P&O-SMC, P&O-BSC, INC-BSC and INC-SMC, is performed. The results show the tracking performances of the proposed method, which are the accuracy and rapidity. Moreover, the results illustrates the ability of the proposed hybrid controller to detect the partial shading and to distinguish the Global Maximum Power Point.