An online optimum-relation-based maximum power point tracking algorithm for wind energy conversion system

Due to the unpredictable nature of wind, determining the optimal generator speed necessary to extract the maximum available wind power at any wind speed is essential. Amongst the available MPPT algorithms, optimal-relation-based (ORB) method is considered the fastest in terms of tracking speed, however, this strategy requires knowledge of system parameters, which are difficult to be calculated and vary from one system to another. Another common and simple algorithm that does not need any prior knowledge of system parameters is the perturb and observe (P&O) method. However, this method has two drawbacks, which are slow response and incorrect directionality under rapid wind change. This paper proposes a new MPPT algorithm based on hybridization of the ORB and P&O methods. In the proposed algorithm, the P&O method is used as an initialization algorithm to search online for a maximum power point (MPP) of a local wind speed in order to extract the parameters needed to perform the ORB method. MATLAB/Simulink software is used to simulate the performance of the proposed MPPT algorithm.