A single phase photovoltaic inverter control for grid connected system

This paper presents a control scheme for single phase grid connected photovoltaic (PV) system operating under both grid connected and isolated grid mode. The control techniques include voltage and current control of grid-tie PV inverter. During grid connected mode, grid controls the amplitude and frequency of the PV inverter output voltage, and the inverter operates in a current controlled mode. The current controller for grid connected mode fulfills two requirements – namely, (i) during light load condition the excess energy generated from the PV inverter is fed to the grid and (ii) during an overload condition or in case of unfavorable atmospheric conditions the load demand is met by both PV inverter and the grid. In order to synchronize the PV inverter with the grid a dual transport delay based phase locked loop (PLL) is used. On the other hand, during isolated grid operation the PV inverter operates in voltage-controlled mode to maintain a constant amplitude and frequency of the voltage across the load. For the optimum use of the PV module, a modified P&O based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller is used which enables the maximum power extraction under varying irradiation and temperature conditions. The validity of the proposed system is verified through simulation as well as hardware implementation.