Maximum power point tracker for solar arrays using controlled rectifier

Solar energy offers a large potential as a source of energy and in light of financial and ethical reasons, people are looking to harvest it for their energy needs. The conversion of solar energy to electricity is performed by solar cells. There exists an operating point associated with solar cells at which the power generated is maximized at any given point in time. A maximum power point tracker (MPPT) is required to track this maximum power operating point (MPOP). A wide range of systems exists to meet this purpose. This thesis explores the use of a single-phase controlled rectifier, with backstepping control to track the maximum power from a string of solar arrays. This controller tracks the MPOP using a circuit topology that has been under investigation within the literature and was simulated using MATLAB/Simulink. Simulation results showed that the designed converter and control strategy could transfer power from a string of solar arrays to the grid by efficiently tracking the MPOP.