New maximum power point tracker using sliding-mode observer for estimation of solar array current in the grid-connected photovoltaic system

A new maximum power point tracker (MPPT) for a grid-connected photovoltaic system without solar array current sensor is proposed. The solar array current information is obtained from the sliding-mode observer and fed into the MPPT to generate the reference voltage. The parameter values such as capacitances can be changed up to 50% from their nominal values, and the linear observer cannot estimate the correct state values under the. parameter variations and noisy environments. The structure of a sliding-mode observer is simple, but it shows the robust tracking property against modeling uncertainties and parameter variations. In this paper, the sliding-mode observer for the solar array current has been proposed to compensate for the parameter variations. The mathematical modeling and the experimental results verify the validity of the proposed method.