398 - Development of a PLC based Sun-Tracking System for Maximization of Photovoltaic Energy Production

摘要

The growing concerns of global warming and depleting oil/gas reserves have made it inevitable to seek energy from renewable energy resources. The positive impacts of an increasing share of renewable energy on the mitigation of climate changes are indisputable. This paper proposes the optimization of the electric energy production by photovoltaic cells through the development of an intelligent sun-tracking system. The developed solution has many advantages in relation to similar existing devices, as this system is autonomous regarding the information needed to process the optimal orientation and is intelligent in a way that it performs on-line monitoring of the photovoltaic energy production.An experimental prototype was built and field results have proven the good performance of the developed tracking system.The observed increase in power generation, in relation to other PV-systems, without tracking devices, is of similar magnitude (ca. 25%) as for other usual tracking solutions. However, this system has a relative advantage, as it measures exactly the controlled variable: the actual PV-power generation.