Optimal control of photovoltaic arrays

A high value of the energy conversion efficiency is not the only feature a photovoltaic power processing system must have. An optimal control of the photovoltaic generator must be also designed in order to maximize the electrical power it produces, even in presence of a time varying irradiation level or when a part of the photovoltaic source is shaded. An overview of the main issues related to this real time optimization problem is given in this paper and some solutions, both presented in the literature and nowadays provided by leading companies, are overviewed.