Solar energy is the main source of renewable energy. As the cost ofphotovoltaic (PV) panels continues to reduce, PV-based power generation becomes popular across the world and they can be either grid-connected or stand-alone systems. Currently, the global installation is over 40GW and has been growing at 50% per year since 2005 [1]. Unfortunately, the output voltage of the single PV cell is quite low (about 0.7 V) and thus the output voltage of the PV module is limited to usually 35 V. In order to connect to the power grid, the PV bus voltage should be higher than 350 V for a 220V/50Hz AC grid. Therefore, a high-voltage gain is needed to convert the low PV cell voltage into high voltage for grid connection.

Chapter Contents:

• 9.1 Introduction
• 9.2 FPGA and DSP-based multi-functional digital controller
• 9.2.1 Controller platform
• 9.2.2 DSP-FPGA synchronization
• 9.2.3 Explanation of function blocks in the FPGA device
• 9.2.4 Implementation of a touch panel
• 9.3 Development of new topologies and control schemes for DC-DC converters
• 9.3.1 High step-up passive clamp circuits
• 9.3.2 Three-phase interleaved high step-up converters
• 9.4 Application of the new topologies for PV installations
• 9.5 Conclusions
• References

Inspec keywords: power grids; DC-DC power convertors; solar cell arrays; power generation control; field programmable gate arrays

Other keywords: frequency 50 Hz; power grid; grid-connected system; solar energy; PV-based power generation; voltage 220 V; single PV cell; power 40 GW; photovoltaic panel; FPGA-DSP controller; stand-alone system; PV module low output voltage; DC-DC converter; renewable energy applications; voltage 35 V

Subjects: Solar energy; Logic and switching circuits; Solar cells and arrays; Control of electric power systems; Photoelectric conversion; solar cells and arrays; DC-DC power convertors; Logic circuits