Individual MPPTs of dual photovoltaic arrays using single-phase split-dc bus inverter

In a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) inverter, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is one of the major functions to extract the maximum possible energy from the PV generator. In multi-array PV systems, each PV array requires its own inverter or dc-dc converter for individual MPPT. In this paper, a novel single-phase photovoltaic inverter topology, which is capable of simultaneous and individual MPPTs for dual PV arrays, is proposed. Since the proposed inverter requires only four semiconductor switches, which is a prerequisite for the conventional full-bridge inverter, it is possible to achieve higher energy efficiency operation with the reduced cost. A power control algorithm using the proposed inverter is also presented in this paper. The operation and effectiveness of the proposed inverter are validated by experiments with a 2-kW prototype inverter.