Design of photovoltaic powered converter to provide AC controlled voltage source

Stand-alone photovoltaic systems are still required in locations where electricity is unavailable. They can provide electric energy for pumping systems, lightings, etc. This paper presents a design of a photovoltaic powered converter to provide regulated AC voltage. The system consists of a buck chopper and an inverter. The chopper acts as a Maximum Power Point Tracker to optimize the battery charging. The inverter used in the proposed system is operated as a controlled voltage source to force its output voltage tracks the reference. The controllers are implemented by dsPICs. Simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed system with simple control scheme. Sinusoidal voltage can be generated by the inverter based on look-up table method. The power equilibrium is also achieved.