Design and Implementation of a Flexible Photovoltaic Emulator Using a GaN-Based Synchronous Buck Converter.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Renewable Energy Systems
• Semiconductor Devices

Background:

• Testing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems requires accurate emulation of PV modules under various conditions.
• Traditional methods using actual PV modules are costly, time-consuming, and space-intensive.
• Advanced digital control and wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors offer potential for improved PV emulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a flexible and efficient PV emulator for power converter design and testing in solar generation systems.
• To utilize gallium nitride (GaN) technology for accurate emulation of PV module characteristics.
• To reduce the cost, space, and time associated with functional testing of solar PV systems.

Main Methods:

• Development of a GaN-based synchronous buck converter controlled by a digital signal processor (DSP).
• Implementation of a curve fitting algorithm for real-time generation of control signals.
• Validation through computer simulations and a 1 kW experimental hardware setup.

Main Results:

• The GaN-based PV emulator accurately mimics dynamic voltage-current characteristics under normal and partial shading conditions.
• Achieved high efficiency up to 99.05% with the GaN switching devices.
• Demonstrated multifaceted application features in tracking various PV voltage and current parameters.

Conclusions:

• The proposed GaN-based PV emulator is feasible and exhibits excellent performance for emulating PV module characteristics.
• It offers a cost-effective, space-saving, and time-efficient solution for solar PV research and development.
• The technology enables accurate emulation based on both theoretical and experimental data.