A Novel Photovoltaic Module for Severe Shade Conditions

This paper proposes a new 10-W-class photovoltaic (PV) power generation module that can minimize the influence of partial shading. The module integrates a single PV cell with a newly developed boost converter. The converter works at an extremely low voltage of 0.3 V. Since the module regulates the output voltage, an external charge controller is unnecessary. Results of an experiment conducted to verify the influence of partial shade showed that the power of the proposed module is almost proportional to the area irradiated by sunlight. On the other hand, a conventional module, in which PV cells with are connected in series, was not able to generate power at all when only 5% of the surface was covered by shade. The proposed module shows excellent characteristics in partial shade