A Novel PLI Technique for Maximum Power Estimation of a Partially Shaded PV Array

In this article, a novel parabola and line intersection (PLI) technique is proposed to estimate the maximum power point (MPP) of a photovoltaic (PV) array under uniform irradiation conditions (UICs) and partial shading conditions (PSCs) using an explicit current$-$voltage (I$-$V) relationship. A new explicitI$-$Vexpression for single diode model PV module is derived and compared with several existingI$-$Vmodels in terms of accuracy. In UICs, the proposed PLI technique estimates the MPP by updating the vertex coordinate of the parabola while keeping the line stationary. In PSCs, a transition voltage matrix (TVM) is created, which contains information about all the turning point voltages in theI$-$Vcharacteristics of PV strings of an array. The voltage range in which MPP exists is selected from the TVM and finally, the PLI method is applied to estimate the MPP. Therefore, the proposed MPP estimation method does not require an initial guess or the wholeI$-$Vcurve information. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed MPP estimation method for partially shaded PV array are validated in both simulation and experimental platforms. The proposed technique finds its application in PV plant planning and machine learning applications.