On-field performance assessment of power converters of solar PV system under different operating conditions

Renewable Energy (RE) system, specifically Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) systems are expected to have a significant impact on the power scenario of many countries across the world in near future. Although most of the RE systems are not technologically new, they have received increased attention because of their ability in providing peak power demand, backup power, improved power quality and reliability to the power grid etc. All the RE systems require specific power electronic converters to convert the power generated into useful power that can be directly interconnected with the utility grid and/ or can be used for specific consumer applications locally. The roles of these power converters become very critical, particularly when it is used in one of the most expensive energy generating sources such as solar PV. These power converters need to be designed optimally in order to provide maximum energy efficiency, ensuring reliability and safety of the overall solar PV system. For this purpose, the performance of the power converter at different operating conditions has to be assessed and subsequently the findings can be provided to the system design community for designing and developing appropriate power converters for different solar PV systems. The paper will present the on-field performance assessment of the power converters used in the experimental setup of a 7kWp(kilo-Watt Peak) solar PV system in one of the research facilities of TERI. Currently the 7kWp SPV system is connected to the local distribution grid through a DC-DC converter with MPPT and an inverter. It is used to meet the continuously varying daytime load of the research facility. The paper will bring out the experimental research findings of the actual setup under different operating condition to show how well the PV system is able to meet the local loads.