Dynamic evaluation of maximum power point tracking operation with PV array simulator

This paper presents an innovative method to measure the dynamic control ability of maximum power point tracking for PV inverters under the condition of irradiance fluctuation. The PV array I-V curve simulator is a kind of indoor testing facility and easy to be adopted by industries. Basic functions are given by a specially designed PV array I-V curve simulator composed of the active power load. Most of the parameters are controllable by sophisticated software with capability of treating a lot of I-s data for a very long period of time. In this paper, detailed structure of the equipment is described and test examples are also given by using a commercial PV inverter. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.