Design of a DC — DC converter for a PV array

In today's world, as non-renewable sources of energy deplete fast, there is an urgent need to switch onto alternate sources of energy. Solar energy is a widely used, popular and viable alternate source of energy. In off the grid sectors such as remote rural areas; solar energy can be used for irrigation pumps which require about 240V ac supply, but owing to its low output power it is insufficient to drive high current loads such as pumps, motors etc. Hence we provide circuitry to amplify a low input voltage of 17.2 V, obtained from a solar panel and boost it to 325V dc by the use of multiple boost converters in cascade to provide the required gain. Attempts are made to configure and maintain a steady DC output voltage in spite of variation of solar voltage or any load changes by the use of PI controller. The circuit has been simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK and the results are shown. The method used here scores owing to its simple construction, working and is efficient too.