II.

1 Introduction
A photovoltaic solar panel (GPV) is a device that converts solar energy into direct-current
electricity. However, the current-voltage characteristic of a GPV is non-linear and varies as a
function of irradiance and temperature. So, to obtain the maximum power from the solar
panel, it is necessary to use a control algorithm called MPPT (Maximum Power Point
Tracking).
The principle of this control is based on automatically varying the duty cycle α of a DC-DC
converter, so as to maximize the power delivered by the PV panel. The basic circuit of an
MPPT system consists of a DC-DC converter driven by a control circuit, in order to extract
the full power produced by the GPV.
In this chapter, we present the MPPT control algorithm. By understanding the operating
principles of these converters, we can better understand how MPPT algorithms work to
optimize solar power generation.
II.2 Adaptation stages
In photovoltaic conversion chains with direct connection between a GPV and a DC load, an
operating point is required, corresponding to the intersection between the GPV's I(V)
characteristic and the I(V) characteristic of the electrical load, whatever its nature.
A DC-DC converter can be inserted between the PV generator and the load, by controlling a
maximum power point (MPP) tracker. This converter is called a maximum power point
tracker (MPPT), managed by a PPM follower algorithm. As shown in (figure II.1), the input
of the DC-DC converter is the photovoltaic generator (GPV) and the output is the load. The
role of the MPPT is to ensure that the PV generator operates at its PPM, extracting the
maximum available power.