Proportional-Integral Controllers Performance of a Grid-Connected Solar PV System with Particle Swarm Optimization and Ziegler–Nichols Tuning Method

• Published in: Energies
• Main Authors: Klemen Deželak, Peter Bracinik, Klemen Sredenšek, Sebastijan Seme
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Subjects: photovoltaic power plant; optimization; PI controllers; distribution system
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/9/2516

This paper deals with photovoltaic (PV) power plant modeling and its integration into the medium-voltage distribution network. Apart from solar cells, a simulation model includes a boost converter, voltage-oriented controller and LCL filter. The main emphasis is given to the comparison of two optimization methods—particle swarm optimization (PSO) and the Ziegler–Nichols (ZN) tuning method, approaches that are used for the parameters of Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers determination. A PI controller is commonly used because of its performance, but it is limited in its effectiveness if there is a change in the parameters of the system. In our case, the aforementioned change is caused by switching the feeders of the distribution network from an open-loop to a closed-loop arrangement. The simulation results have claimed the superiority of the PSO algorithm, while the classical ZN tuning method is acceptable in a limited area of operation.