Received 17 January 2023, accepted 31 January 2023, date of publication 6 February 2023, date of current version 10 February 2023.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3242979

Optimizing Step-Size of Perturb & Observe and

Incremental Conductance MPPT Techniques
Using PSO for Grid-Tied PV System
MOHAMMAD HAZIQ IBRAHIM 1 , SWEE PENG ANG 1 , MUHAMMAD NORFAUZI DANI 1,

MOHAMMAD ISHLAH RAHMAN2 , (Member, IEEE), RAFIDAH PETRA1 ,

AND SHEIK MOHAMMED SULTHAN 1 , (Senior Member, IEEE)
1 Electrical and Electronic Engineering Programme Area, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Gadong BE1410, Brunei Darussalam
2 School of Science and Engineering, Politeknik Brunei, Ministry of Education, Bandar Seri Begawan BA1311, Brunei Darussalam
Corresponding author: Mohammad Haziq Ibrahim ([email protected])

ABSTRACT A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique plays an important role to ensure
maximum photovoltaic (PV) output power is extracted under stochastic weather conditions. The research
to date tends to focus on developing a standalone optimization MPPT algorithm rather than looking into a
hybrid MPPT algorithm. This paper introduces particle swarm optimization (PSO) to optimize the maximum
PV output power and to determine the best design variable for penalizing the step size of the conventional
methods namely the perturb and observe (PO) and the incremental conductance (IC). With the help of the
hybrid MPPT algorithm (PSO+IC and PSO+PO), the step size is no longer fixed, and it is changing according
to the solar irradiance. To evaluate the proposed hybrid algorithm, a single-stage grid connected PV system
is designed for several different scenarios with various weather conditions. The performance of the hybrid
MPPT algorithm and the conventional methods is compared. The results demonstrate that the hybrid MPPT
algorithm is remarkably better than the conventional methods, especially for PSO+IC, where it only takes
43.4 ms of tracking time and reaches the efficiency of 99.07% under standard test conditions.

INDEX TERMS Hybrid MPPT, particle swarm optimization, incremental conductance, perturb and observe,
optimal step-size, single-stage grid connected PV system.

I. INTRODUCTION converter. The power generation of the PV system highly

Due to the rising economic development and energy con- depends on the weather conditions (i.e. solar irradiance and
sumption, photovoltaic (PV) systems have been widely used temperature), such that the output power will fluctuate due
in industry. One significant advantage of employing PV to the stochastic weather condition. Furthermore, the current
systems is that the sources are clean and less harmful to the against voltage and power against voltage curve shows a
environment compared to conventional power generation [1]. nonlinear relationship of the PV module. Thus, to harvest
The ability of PV systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions maximum power from the PV system, the maximum power
while producing power has made this system more reliable point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is required and plays an
and robust. There are two widely used grid-tied inverters important role in the PV system as discussed in [3].
namely single-stage and double-stage inverters [2]. Single- Many researchers had proposed different types of algo-
stage grid connected PV systems comprise of dc/ac inverter rithms and artificial intelligence techniques to determine the
with a transformer. Meanwhile, double-stage grid connected MPPT of the PV system. The most well-known algorithms
PV systems comprise of dc/ac inverter with a dc/dc boost used are the perturb and observe, and the incremental
conductance. These methods are easy to implement and
The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and depend on the step change of the voltage or duty cycle [4].
approving it for publication was Lorenzo Ciani . Perturb and observe algorithm is based on the derivative of

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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power in function of voltage is equal to zero at the maximum was proposed based on the Lagrange interpolation formula
power point, meanwhile, the incremental conductance algo- and PSO method. In [23], improved PSO, and perturb
rithm is based on comparing the values between PV array and observe MPPT algorithm were developed to reduce
instantaneous current against voltage with the derivative of the oscillation during the MPPT phase. In [24], overall
current in the function of voltage [5]. On the other hand, the distribution and PSO MPPT algorithm were proposed to
artificial intelligence approach could be developed based on improve the tracking speed for maximum power point.
maximising the output power of the PV array. In [25], a hybrid adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system
In recent years, a modified MPPT algorithm was developed (ANFIS) and PSO-based MPPT method were proposed and
by many researchers with different applications which will employed in a zeta converter circuit to obtain rapid and zero
be discussed as follows. In [6] and [7], an improved oscillation tracking. In [26], an improved grey wolf optimizer
MPPT algorithm was developed based on the conventional MPPT algorithm was proposed and employed in boost
incremental conductance and employed in a boost converter full-bridge isolated converter (BFBIC) topology. In [27],
circuit. In [8] and [9], a modified incremental conductance an improved MPPT algorithm based on the earthquake
was employed in a single-stage grid connected PV system. optimization algorithm was proposed and employed in boost
In [10], an improved perturb and observe algorithm was converter circuit to improve the dynamic behaviour of the PV
proposed and employed in the buck-boost converter circuit. systems. In [28], incremental conductance based on the PSO
In [11], a two-stage MPPT algorithm was proposed based algorithm for MPPT was proposed and employed in the boost
on adaptive scaling factor beta, and perturb and observe converter circuit. As discussed beforehand, most researchers
algorithm was proposed and employed in the boost converter tend to focus on developing a standalone optimization MPPT
circuit. In [12], an improved variable step size of perturb algorithm. The combination of optimization techniques and
and observe MPPT algorithm was developed and employed the conventional MPPT algorithms in standalone PV systems
in the boost converter circuit. In [13], a modified perturb have shown improvement in the overall performance of the
and observe MPPT was proposed and employed in a double- system [23], [28]. However, less effort is put into the work
stage grid connected PV system. In [14], a high-performance in integrating optimization techniques and the conventional
variable step size perturb and observe MPPT algorithm methods for single-stage grid connected PV systems. It is
was proposed and employed in a buck converter circuit. expected to provide faster and more accurate tracking MPP
In [15], an improved MPPT control strategy was developed which can improve the overall efficiency of the system.
based on incremental conductance and was employed in the In addition, it can also make the system more robust and can
boost converter circuit. In [16], fast tracking incremental adapt to different operating conditions.
conductance algorithm was proposed and employed in In this paper, the method of improving the conventional
the boost converter circuit. However, employing such an methods namely the perturb and observe, and the incremental
algorithm as discussed beforehand, highly depends on the conductance by employing the optimization technique is
step size voltage or duty cycle. Moreover, these techniques presented. The method employed is to optimize the maximum
may not provide accurate tracking of the maximum power PV output power and to determine the best design variable
point (MPP) and it may result in an oscillation of voltage for penalizing the step size of the conventional methods.
near the maximum power point. Therefore, to overcome The results show that the combined methods lead to better
these problems, optimization techniques had been widely efficiency and performance compared to the conventional
developed by many researchers. methods.
One major advantage of employing optimization tech- The remainder of the paper is structured as follows.
niques is the ability of the algorithm to determine the global Section II describes the overview of the conventional MPPT
optimum solution by generating random variables in the algorithm. Section III describes the overview of the particle
search space [17]. The capability of optimization techniques swarm optimization. Section IV describes the proposed
in many applications has made other researchers consider MPPT algorithm based on particle swarm optimization.
these methods to develop a better MPPT algorithm. In the Section V provides the implementation and design of the
past few years, many researchers have proposed an MPPT single-stage grid connected PV system. Section VI discusses
algorithm based on optimization techniques which will be the results. Finally, Section VII concludes the paper.
discussed as follows. In [18], particle swarm optimization
(PSO) has been employed to determine the MPPT by
proposing two additional conditions namely the convergence II. OVERVIEW OF THE CONVENTIONAL MPPT
detection and the change in solar insolation detection. In [19], ALGORITHM
an improved PSO-based MPPT was developed to reduce the As discussed earlier, the most widely-known MPPT algo-
steady state oscillation. In [20], the water cycle algorithm rithms are the traditional perturb and observe, and incre-
MPPT with the characteristics of power and current was mental conductance. These algorithms are widely used due
proposed. In [21], a PSO-based global MPPT technique to their simplicity and effectiveness to track the MPP.
for distributed PV power generation with constraints for Moreover, these algorithms are used as a baseline and they
boost converters was proposed. In [22], a novel MPPT are considered standard references to make any comparisons

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FIGURE 2. Flowchart of the conventional incremental conductance

algorithm [31], [32], [33].
FIGURE 1. Flowchart of the conventional perturb and observe
algorithm [14], [30], [33].

with new algorithms [14]. In this section, the overviews of

both algorithms are discussed.

A. PERTURB AND OBSERVE

Figure 1 shows the flowchart of the conventional perturb
and observe algorithm. The voltage and current are measured
from the PV module output to calculate the value of the output FIGURE 3. Comparison between small and large fixed step sizes
power. The difference in power and voltage is then calculated oscillation at the MPP.

between the new values and the previous values. At the

maximum operating point the change in power, dPpv , is equal must be met [31], [32], [33]:
to zero. However, if dPpv is not equal to zero, the algorithm dP
will try to find the best solution by increasing or decreasing =0 (1)
dV
the voltage with a fixed step size. If the operating point of the dP d(V · I ) dV dI
PV is on the left-hand side, the algorithm will track the MPP = =I +V (2)
dV dV dV dV
by driving the system to the right-hand side near the MPP and dI I
vice-versa. =− (3)
dV V
where dI /dV is the derivative of current in the function of
B. INCREMENTAL CONDUCTANCE voltage, and I /V is the PV instantaneous current against
Figure 2 shows the flowchart of the incremental conductance voltage. Furthermore, if dI /dV > 0, the reference
algorithm. The voltage and current are measured from the voltage is increase based on fixed step voltage. Meanwhile,
PV module output. The value of change in voltage and if dI /dV < 0 the reference voltage is decrease based on the
current are calculated to determine the derivative of current fixed step voltage.
in voltage. Moreover, the principle of the conventional Both algorithms rely heavily on the step size that the
incremental conductance algorithm is based on comparing user provides. Figure 3 shows the oscillation comparison
the value between the derivative of current in the function between small and large fixed step sizes on the power
of voltage and the PV array instantaneous current against against voltage curve. Small steady state oscillations are
voltage. This algorithm simply tracks the MPP by increasing accomplished with small step sizes, but at the expense of
or decreasing the reference voltage based on the operating a poor MPPT time response and a decline in output power
point of the system. At MPP, the following conditions efficiency. Meanwhile, using large step sizes enhances the

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MPPT time response. However, the steady state oscillations In this model, an auxiliary equation is used to translate the
near the maximum power point are amplified. Hence, in this five parameter to ten parameter model. The light-generated
paper, optimization is employed to maximize the output of current, IL , can be mathematically expressed as [34]:
PV power by penalizing and varying the step size which will Ns nKTc
be discussed further in this paper. αref = (10)
q
Tc
III. OVERVIEW OF PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION αn = αref · (11)
Particle swarm optimization algorithm can be simply Tref
described as fish schooling or a bird flocking searching for G
IL = (IL,ref + αn [Tc − Tref ]) (12)
food in space, where it uses the velocity vector, the experience Gref
of each particle, and the experience of the neighbouring where Ns is the number of cells in the module, n is the ideality
particle to generate a random position vector in the space [29]. factor, K is the Boltzmann constant, q is the charge of an
The position of each particle in the space can calculated and electron, G is the irradiance, Gref is the irradiance at standard
updated based on the velocity equation given as [29]: reference condition (SRC), Tc is the temperature, and Tref
(k+1)
vi
(k) (k)
= αvi + c1 r1 [Pbesti
(k) (k)
− xi ] is the temperature at SRC. In addition, the diode reverse
(k) (k) (k) saturation current, Io , can be mathematically expressed
+ c2 r2 [Gbesti − xi ] (4) as [34]:
where α is a constant parameter called inertia weight. c1 and Eg = Eg,ref (1 − 0.0002677[Tc − Tref ]) (13)
c2 are the cognitive coefficient and social coefficient of the
Tc 3
    
(k) (k)
particles respectively. r1 and r2 are the random numbers 1 Eg Eg
Io = Io,ref exp − (14)
generated between 0 and 1. The new particle position vector Tref k Tref Tc
can be calculated and updated as follow [29]: where Eg is the energy bandgap, Eg,ref is the energy band gap
(k+1)
xi =
(k)
xi
(k+1)
+ vi (5) at SRC, and Io,ref is the diode saturation current reference
at SRC. Other than that, the parallel resistance of the single
In the search space, the particle will try to modify the diode model, Rsh , depends on the irradiance which can be
position vector according to the velocity vector which could mathematically expressed as [34]:
be calculated by the velocity equation and the distance of the Gref
(k) (k)
particle from Pbesti and Gbesti . Rsh = Rsh,ref · (15)
G
IV. PROPOSED MPPT ALGORITHM BASED ON PARTICLE where Rsh,ref is the reference parallel resistance at SRC.
SWARM OPTIMIZATION Moreover, four constraints are taken into consideration. The
Due to the non-linearity behaviour of the PV module, first constraint is based on current against voltage curve
accurate and fast dynamic response of MPPT is required. The characteristics, where it can be mathematically expressed as:
performance of the MPPT is formulated by using both PSO  q(V + I R ) 
pv pv s
qIo exp
and the conventional algorithm, which are presented in the dI 1 nKTNs
flowchart of Figure 4. Initially, the irradiance, the voltage, =− − (16)
dV Rsh nKTNs
and the current are sensed. This is followed by the objective where at the MPP, the first derivative of current in the function
function of the PV output power, Ppv , which can be defined of voltage which is written in (16), must be equal to the
as: instantaneous PV current divided by the instantaneous PV
f = max(Ppv ) (6) voltage. The second constraint is based on power against
Ppv = Ipv × Vpv (7) voltage curve characteristics, where it can be mathematically
expressed as:
where Ipv is the output current of the PV module and Vpv is the  q(V + I R ) 
pv pv s
voltage of the PV module. In PSO, Ipv and Vpv are randomly  qIo exp 
dP 1 nKTNs
initialized. The decision variables, var, can be expressed as: = IL − Vpv +
dV Rsh nKTNs
var = [Vpv , Ipv ] (8)   q(V +I R )  
Vpv +Ipv Rs pv pv s
− −Io exp −1 (17)
The output current of the PV module, Ipv , is calculated based Rsh nKTNs
on IEC-61853 single diode model which can be extended
where at the MPP, the first derivative of power in the function
as [34], [35]:
 V + I R   V +I R of voltage is equal to zero. Meanwhile, the third and fourth
pv pv s pv pv s constraints are to limit the search space of PSO, which can be
Ipv = IL − Io exp −1 − (9)
αn Rsh mathematically expressed as:
where IL is the light-generated current, Io is the reverse
0 < Vpv < Vpv,max (18)
saturation current, Rs is the series resistance, Rsh is the
parallel resistance, and αn is the non-ideality factor. 0 < Ipv < Ipv,max (19)

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FIGURE 4. Flowchart of the proposed MPPT based on PSO.

where Vpv,max and Ipv,max are the open circuit voltage and the where α is a large constant such that to enhance the
short circuit current of the PV module respectively. performance of the MPPT by providing faster tracking
At every iteration, PSO will update the best and the global time of the MPP during the change in weather conditions.
best fitness value ever found in the search space. If the Meanwhile, if the step size is less than ϵ, the new step size
algorithm fails to determine the optimal solution, the decision can be mathematically expressed as:
variables are randomly re-initialized to search for the global
best fitness value. The best design variable, Ipso , is then Step sizeβ = Step size × β (22)
updated for the conventional MPPT algorithm to calculate the where β is a small constant such that to enhance the
step size, which can be expressed as: performance of the MPPT by reducing the oscillation near the
Ppv (k) MPP during the steady-state condition. The calculated step
Step size = Ipso − (20) size is then updated for the conventional MPPT algorithm.
Vpv (k)
Furthermore, a tolerance, ϵ, is introduced to penalized the V. IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN OF SINGLE-STAGE
step size such that if the step size is greater than ϵ, the new GRID CONNECTED PV SYSTEM
step size can be mathematically expressed as: Figure 5 shows the typical single-stage grid connected PV
system control scheme. The system consists of a PV panel,
Step sizeα = Step size × α (21) dc-link voltage, dc/ac inverter, and LCL filter. The dc-link

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TABLE 1. Grid-tied PV array simulation parameters [41], [42].

TABLE 2. PV module specifications at 1000 W/m2 and 25 o C [40].

FIGURE 5. Single-stage grid connected PV system control scheme [8],

[37], [38], [43].

voltage is regulated by using the outer loop voltage control

(i.e., feed forward voltage regulator) to achieve low total
harmonic distortion in the grid [39]. The outer loop utilises
one PI controller to match the dc-link voltage with the TABLE 3. PV array specifications at 1000 W/m2 and 25 o C [40].
reference voltage, Vdc,ref . Meanwhile, the inner loop current
control utilises two PI controllers to regulate the direct
current, Id , and the quadrature current, Iq . The general
relationship between the grid-tied inverter voltages and line
currents can be expressed as [39]:
       
ea Ia Ia Va
d
eb  = Rf Ib  + Lf Ib  + Vb  (23)
e I dt I V
c c c c
In addition, in the synchronous rotating frame, the real
where ea , eb and ec are the inverter output voltages, Ia , Ib
power, Pgrid , and the reactive power, Qgrid , can be expressed
and Ic are the three-phase line currents, Va , Vb and Vc are
as [39]:
the three-phase grid voltages, and Rf and Lf are the filter
resistance and inductance respectively. 3
Pgrid =(Vd Id + Vq Iq ) (26)
The synchronisation of the PV system to the grid is 2
employed by converting three-phase electrical quantities to 3
Qgrid = (Vq Id − Vd Iq ) (27)
d-q axis quantities using Park’s transformation, in which, 2
a synchronous reference frame based phase-locked loop is The specification and relevant parameters of the grid-tied
employed [44]. The rotating reference frame synchronised PV inverter are shown in Table 1. A Sanyo Electric Co
with the grid voltage can be mathematically expressed Ltd of Panasonic Group VBHN-225S-A06B PV module
as [39]: is used and its output characteristics at standard test
dId conditions are listed in Table 2. The PV array employed
Vd = ed − Rf Id + ωLf Iq − L (24) in this paper consists of 89 parallel strings and 50 series-
dt
dIq connected strings of the VBHN-225S-A06B module. Table 3
Vq = eq − Rf Iq − ωLf Id − L (25) shows the specification of the PV array at standard test
dt
where Vd and Vq are the grid d-axis and q-axis voltage conditions.
components respectively, ed and eq are the d-axis and q-axis
inverter voltage components respectively, Id and Iq are the d- VI. SIMULATION RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
axis and q-axis grid currents respectively, and ω is the grid Single stage grid connected PV system is simulated using
angular frequency. the MATLAB/Simulink software with different MPPT

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TABLE 4. Main parameters of the PSO algorithm.

TABLE 5. Standard test conditions performance comparison between the

proposed methods and the conventional methods.

A. CASE 1: STANDARD TEST CONDITIONS

The output power with different MPPT algorithms and the
step size of the proposed method are shown in Figure 6.
It can be seen clearly that for a large fixed step size, the
tracking of the MPP is much faster. However, there is a large
oscillation of output power at a steady state. Meanwhile,
for a small fixed step size, the tracking process is much
slower. But, this will reduce the oscillation of output power
at a steady state. Moreover, in comparison with the proposed
methods, the step size generated varies from a larger step
size (180) to a smaller step size (0.01). This improves the
performance by providing faster tracking time and increases
the efficiency of the output power as shown in Table 5. It must
be noted that as the fixed step size of the conventional MPPT
increases, the output power efficiency will decrease due to
the increase in ripple output power, this affects the system
performance in the long run. In addition, the efficiency
of the output power, η, for each MPPT algorithm can be
expressed as:
Rt
PActual
η = Rt 0 × 100% (28)
0 PTheoretical
FIGURE 6. System response under standard test conditions; (a) Proposed
method step size and PV output power comparison for incremental where t is the time, PActual is the actual output power
conductance, and (b) Proposed method step size and PV output power generated from the PV system, and PTheoretical is the
comparison for Perturb and Observe.
theoretical output power generated from the PV system.
In Table 5, it must be noted that the PTheoretical is equal to
1.003 MW.
algorithms under varying input conditions, the obtained
results are presented and discussed in this section. The per- B. CASE 2: CHANGING IRRADIANCE CONDITIONS
formance of the proposed method (PSO+IC and PSO+PO) The changing irradiance is applied to the single stage grid
is compared with the conventional method (IC and PO). connected PV system with constant temperature (25 o C)
Four detailed simulation case studies were carried out as shown in Figure 7(a). The step size of the proposed
under (i) Standard Test Conditions (1000 W/m2 , 25 o C) (ii) method and the output power with different MPPT algo-
Changing Irradiance Conditions, (iii) Changing Temperature rithms are shown in Figure 7(b) and 7(c) respectively. The
Conditions, and (iv) Real Time Irradiance Conditions. output power of the system demonstrates that the step size
In addition, the constant parameters of the PSO are listed in provided by the proposed method is more precise in all
Table 4. situations.

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FIGURE 7. System response under changing irradiance conditions;

(a) Changing irradiance profile, (b) Proposed method step size and PV
output power comparison for incremental conductance, and (c) Proposed FIGURE 8. System response under changing temperature conditions;
method step size and PV output power comparison for Perturb and (a) Changing temperature profile, (b) Proposed method step size and PV
Observe. output power comparison for incremental conductance, and (c) Proposed
method step size and PV output power comparison for Perturb and
Observe.

C. CASE 3: CHANGING TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS

The changing temperature is applied to the same system with The step size of the proposed method and the output power
constant irradiance (1000 W/m2 ) as shown in Figure 8(a). with different MPPT algorithms are shown in Figure 8(b)

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FIGURE 9. (a) Real time irradiance (b) Samples of irradiance.

and 8(c) respectively. The output power of the system

demonstrates that the step size provided by the proposed
method does not show any significant improvement to the
system in terms of tracking time. Yet, the proposed algorithm
is capable to reduce the ripple output power during the steady
state condition.

D. CASE 4: REAL TIME IRRADIANCE CONDITIONS

The performance of the proposed method under rapidly
changing irradiance and constant temperature (25 o C) is
studied using real-time data samples. The real-time data
was gathered from the weather station, where it collects
the irradiance data at a sample rate of 60 s using the
sensor and it is stored in the database in 60 s intervals.
Figure 9(a) shows the rapid changes in the irradiance on
a particular day in early June month in 2022. In order to
simulate abruptly changing irradiance, 40 data samples of FIGURE 10. System response under real time irradiance conditions;
irradiance are collected at regular intervals from 10:55 AM (a) Proposed method step size and PV output power comparison for
incremental conductance, and (b) Proposed method step size and PV
to 11:15 AM. The collected data is given as a step input and output power comparison for perturb and observe.
it is considered that the changes are occurring every 0.1 s as
shown in Figure 9(b).
The output power results of employing the conventional
fixed small step size, large fixed step size, and the proposed current follow the irradiance shape under rapid changes.
method are shown in Figure 10. It can be seen clearly that, This is due to the output reference voltage, Vdc,ref , from
when there is a sudden change in irradiance, the proposed the MPPT being fed into the outer loop voltage control.
method offers a fast tracking time with lower ripple output Whereas the reactive power and reactive current do not
power. Furthermore, the grid side results are tested with both follow the irradiance shape due to the current controller q-
the conventional and the proposed methods. It is assumed that axis, Iq,ref , being set equal to zero to ensure unity power
the results are obtained as the system has been synchronised factor operation. It is clear that by employing the proposed
with the utility grid. Figure 11 and 12 show the d-q axis method, the grid side results and the PV side results are both
currents and the active and reactive power respectively. improved in terms of their settling time and ripple output
It can be seen clearly that the active power and active power.

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methods (IC and PO). A detailed case study is carried

out under standard test conditions, changing irradiance
conditions, changing temperature conditions, and real-time
irradiance conditions. It was found that the proposed method
improves the system efficiency by reducing the settling time
(i.e. faster tracking time) and reduces the ripple output power
(i.e. less oscillation at steady state). In future work, a detailed
experimental case study which includes the proposed MPPT
and the actual power system network with a large scale single-
stage grid connected PV system will be implemented to
further validate the results.

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D. Ryberg, SAM Photovoltaic Model Technical Reference Update. Golden, U.K., in 2010. He is currently a Senior Assis-
CO, USA: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2018. tant Professor with the Electrical and Electronic
[36] K. T. Chaturvedi, M. Pandit, and L. Srivastava, ‘‘Self-organizing Engineering Programme Area, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Negara, Brunei
hierarchical particle swarm optimization for nonconvex economic dis- Darussalam. His research interests include transformer modeling, ferroreso-
patch,’’ IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 1079–1087, nance studies in power systems, solar power systems, and control in power
Aug. 2008. systems.

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MUHAMMAD NORFAUZI DANI received the RAFIDAH PETRA received the bachelor’s degree
B.Eng. degree (Hons.) in communication engi- in electrical and electronic engineering from
neering from International Islamic University Glasgow University, U.K., in 2004, under twinning
Malaysia (IIUM), the M.Sc. degree in radio programme with University Brunei Darussalam
frequency communication systems from the Uni- (UBD), and the master’s degree in nanoelectronics
versity of Southampton, U.K., and the Ph.D. and nanotechnology and the Ph.D. degree in
degree in electrical and electronic engineer- electronics and electrical engineering from the
ing from the University of Manchester, U.K. University of Southampton, U.K. She is cur-
From 2008 to 2015, he worked as a Manager in rently an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of
spectrum planning and numbering at the Authority Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB),
for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam Brunei Darussalam. She has been working as an Educator, since she
(AITI). He joined Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB), as a Lecturer, in 2015. graduated the bachelor’s degree (back in 2004), and progressively becomes
His research interests include beyond 5G and 6G mobile networks, advanced an Active Academia, where she has been involved both in teaching
multiple access schemes, wireless edge caching, broadcast/multicast net- and research. Her major is in silicon nano-photonics technology for
works, and optimization techniques. telecommunications where she specializes on the design, fabrication, and
characterization of nanoscale waveguide devices. Her expertise is in thin-
film fabrication for devices at nanometer scale, for the application of solar
cells and sensors for environmental sensing. Her current research interests
include carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring on the growth effect of vegetation
through the use of technological engineering applications, investigation of
direct air capture technology to alleviate the increase of atmospheric carbon
dioxide (CO2) level, Brunei Darussalam, exploration of semiconductor
nanostructured materials for solar energy harvesting and applications of
nanotechnology for Halal authentication.

SHEIK MOHAMMED SULTHAN (Senior

Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in
MOHAMMAD ISHLAH RAHMAN (Member, electrical engineering. He has been working as
IEEE) received the B.Eng. degree (Hons.) in an Assistant Professor with Universiti Teknologi
electrical and electronic control engineering from Brunei, Brunei Darussalam. He has authored
the University of Aberdeen, U.K., and the M.E. more than 50 papers in international journals and
degree in systems engineering from the University conference proceedings. He has published four
of Queensland, Australia, and the Ph.D. degree patents and four book chapters. He is actively
in electrical engineering from the University of working on many funded projects mainly in the
Aberdeen, U.K. He is currently a Lecturer with areas electric vehicles and solar PV systems. His
Politeknik Brunei, Brunei. His research interests research interests include solar PV systems, smart grid, microgrid, electric
include renewable energy integration, DC/DC vehicles, low voltage DC systems, and machine learning.
converters, HVDC, and control systems engineering.

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