Device and method for global maximum power point tracking

10050,446

15/796228

October 27, 2017

A device, system, and method for global maximum power point tracking comprises monitoring an output power of a DC power source while executing a maximum power point tracking algorithm and adjusting a maximum power point tracking command signal in response to the output power being less than a reference output power. The command signal is adjusted until the output power exceeds a previous output power by a reference amount. The command signal may be a voltage command signal, a current command signal, an impedance command signal, a duty ratio command signal, or the like.

SunPower Corporation (San Jose, CA, US)

SunPower Corporation (San Jose, CA, US)

1. An inverter for converting direct current (DC) power from a DC power source to alternating current (AC) power, the inverter comprising: an input converter configured for electrically coupling to the DC power source and converting a DC waveform to a bus waveform on a power bus; and an inverter controller electrically coupled to the input converter and configured to control operation of the input converter based on a global maximum power tracking (“MPPT”) method, the inverter controller comprising: input sense circuitry configured to sense the input power of the DC power source; an MPPT control module configured to: execute a global MPPT method to search in a first direction for the global maximum power point; and generate a command signal based on the input power of the DC power source; and an input converter control module configured to: receive the command signal from the MPPT control module; receive a feedback signal of the input voltage of the DC power source; and in response to the command and feedback signals, generate a plurality of switch control signals to control a plurality of switches of the input converter to adjust the power point of the DC power source; whereby a substantially maximum power is extracted from the DC power source.

2. The inverter of claim 1 , wherein the global MPPT method comprises: monitoring the input power of the DC power source; in response to the input power of the DC power source being less than a threshold, adjusting a value of the command signal and returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source with the adjusted command signal value; and in response to the input power of the DC power source not being less than the threshold, returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source without adjusting the command signal value.

3. The inverter of claim 2 , wherein the global MPPT method further comprises: after adjusting the command signal value, determining if the command signal value has reached a command variable threshold; and in response to the command signal value not reaching a command variable threshold, performing one of: returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source with the adjusted command signal value in response to the input power of the DC power source being greater than the reference input power; and returning to adjusting the command signal value in response to the input power of the DC power source being not greater than a reference input power.

4. The inverter of claim 3 , wherein the global MPPT method further comprises, in response to the command signal value reaching a command variable threshold, performing one of: executing the global MPPT method in a second direction, opposite the first direction with the adjusted command signal value; and returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source with the unadjusted command signal value.

5. The inverter of claim 2 , wherein the command signal value is adjusted in response to the input power of the DC power source being less than the threshold for a predetermined period of time.

6. The inverter of claim 5 , wherein the command signal value is not adjusted in response to the input power of the DC power source being less than the threshold for less than the predetermined period of time.

7. The inverter of claim 1 , wherein: the inverter further comprises an output converter configured for electrically coupling to an AC grid and converting the bus waveform to the AC power; and the inverter controller further comprises an output converter control module configured to control operation of the output converter through a pulse width modulation (“PWM”) method.

8. The inverter of claim 1 , wherein the command signal is a voltage command signal and adjusting the command signal value comprises adjusting the voltage command signal by a discrete voltage amount.

9. The inverter of claim 1 , wherein the command signal is a current command signal and adjusting the command signal value comprises adjusting the current command signal by a discrete current amount.

10. The inverter of claim 1 , further comprising communication circuitry communicatively coupled to the inverter controller and configured to communicate with remote devices.

11. A system for converting direct current (DC) power from a DC power source to alternating current (AC) power, the system comprising: an input converter configured for electrically coupling to the DC power source and converting a DC waveform to a bus waveform on a power bus; and an inverter controller electrically coupled to the input converter and configured to control operation of the input converter based on a global maximum power tracking (“MPPT”) method, the inverter controller comprising: input sense circuitry configured to sense the input power of the DC power source; an MPPT control module configured to: execute a global MPPT method to search in a first direction for the global maximum power point; and generate a command signal based on the input power of the DC power source; and an input converter control module configured to: receive the command signal from the MPPT control module; receive a feedback signal of the input voltage of the DC power source; and in response to the command and feedback signals, generate a plurality of switch control signals to control a plurality of switches of the input converter to adjust the power point of the DC power source; whereby a substantially maximum power is extracted from the DC power source.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the global MPPT method comprises: monitoring the input power of the DC power source; in response to the input power of the DC power source being less than a threshold, adjusting a value of the command signal and returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source with the adjusted command signal value; and in response to the input power of the DC power source not being less than the threshold, returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source without adjusting the command signal value.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the global MPPT method further comprises: after adjusting the command signal value, determining if the command signal value has reached a command variable threshold; and in response to the command signal value not reaching a command variable threshold, performing one of: returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source with the adjusted command signal value in response to the input power of the DC power source being greater than the reference input power; and returning to adjusting the command signal value in response to the input power of the DC power source being not greater than a reference input power.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the global MPPT method further comprises, in response to the command signal value reaching a command variable threshold, performing one of: executing the global MPPT method in a second direction, opposite the first direction with the adjusted command signal value; and returning to monitoring the input power of the DC power source with the unadjusted command signal value.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the command signal value is adjusted in response to the input power of the DC power source being less than the threshold for a predetermined period of time.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the command signal value is not adjusted in response to the input power of the DC power source being less than the threshold for less than the predetermined period of time.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein: the inverter further comprises an output converter configured for electrically coupling to an AC grid and converting the bus waveform to the AC power; and the inverter controller further comprises an output converter control module configured to control operation of the output converter through a pulse width modulation (“PWM”) method.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the command signal is a voltage command signal and adjusting the command signal value comprises adjusting the voltage command signal by a discrete voltage amount.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the command signal is a current command signal and adjusting the command signal value comprises adjusting the current command signal by a discrete current amount.

20. The system of claim 11 , further comprising communication circuitry communicatively coupled to the inverter controller and configured to communicate with remote devices.

3670230 June 1972 Rooney et al.
4114048 September 1978 Hull
4217633 August 1980 Evans
4277692 July 1981 Small
4287465 September 1981 Godard et al.
4649334 March 1987 Nakajima
4651265 March 1987 Stacey et al.
4661758 April 1987 Whittaker
4707774 November 1987 Kajita
4709318 November 1987 Gephart et al.
4719550 January 1988 Powell et al.
4725740 February 1988 Nakata
5041959 August 1991 Walker
5148043 September 1992 Hirata et al.
5160851 November 1992 McAndrews
5191519 March 1993 Kawakami
5309073 May 1994 Kaneko et al.
5343380 August 1994 Champlin
5473528 December 1995 Hirata
5668464 September 1997 Krein
5684385 November 1997 Guyonneau et al.
5721481 February 1998 Narita et al.
5745356 April 1998 Tassitino
5796182 August 1998 Martin
5838148 August 1998 Kurokami
5801519 September 1998 Midya et al.
5268832 December 1998 Kandatsu
5886890 March 1999 Ishida et al.
5892354 April 1999 Nagao
5929537 July 1999 Glennon
5978236 November 1999 Fabemian et al.
5982645 November 1999 Levran et al.
6046402 April 2000 More
6154379 November 2000 Okita
6157168 December 2000 Malik
6180868 January 2001 Yoshino et al.
6201180 March 2001 Meyer et al.
6201319 March 2001 Simonelli et al.
6225708 May 2001 Furukawa
6268559 July 2001 Yamawaki
6285572 September 2001 Onizuka et al.
6291764 September 2001 Ishida et al.
6311279 October 2001 Nguyen
6356471 March 2002 Fang
6369461 April 2002 Jungreis et al.
6381157 April 2002 Jensen
6445089 September 2002 Okui
6462507 October 2002 Fisher
6489755 December 2002 Boudreaux et al.
6563234 May 2003 Hasegawa et al.
6605881 August 2003 Takehara et al.
6614132 September 2003 Hockney et al.
6624533 September 2003 Swanson
6657321 December 2003 Sinha
6700802 March 2004 Ulinski et al.
6727602 April 2004 Olson
6750391 June 2004 Bower et al.
6765315 July 2004 Hammerstrom
6770984 August 2004 Pai
6795322 September 2004 Aihara et al.
6838611 January 2005 Kondo et al.
6847196 January 2005 Garabandic
6881509 April 2005 Jungreis
6882063 April 2005 Droppo et al.
6950323 September 2005 Achleitner
7031176 April 2006 Kotsopoulos et al.
7072195 July 2006 Xu
7091707 August 2006 Cutler
7193872 March 2007 Siri
7233130 June 2007 Kay
7289341 October 2007 Hesterman
7319313 January 2008 Dickerson et al.
7324361 January 2008 Siri
7339287 March 2008 Jepsen et al.
7365998 April 2008 Kumar
7405494 July 2008 Tassitino, Jr. et al.
7420354 September 2008 Cutler
7432691 October 2008 Cutler
7463500 December 2008 West
7502697 March 2009 Holmquist et al.
7521914 April 2009 Dickerson et al.
7531993 May 2009 Udrea et al.
7551460 June 2009 Lalithambika et al.
7560902 July 2009 Unger
7577005 August 2009 Angerer et al.
7592789 September 2009 Jain
7609040 October 2009 Jain
7626834 December 2009 Chisenga et al.
7638899 December 2009 Tracy et al.
7646116 January 2010 Batarseh et al.
7656690 February 2010 Yamada
7660139 February 2010 Garabandic
7667610 February 2010 Thompson
7681090 March 2010 Kimball et al.
7710752 May 2010 West
7733679 June 2010 Luger et al.
7768155 August 2010 Fornage
7796412 September 2010 Fornage
RE41965 November 2010 West
7839022 November 2010 Wolfs
7839025 November 2010 Besser
7855906 December 2010 Klodowski et al.
RE42039 January 2011 West et al.
7899632 March 2011 Fornage et al.
7916505 March 2011 Fornage
7986122 July 2011 Fornage et al.
8154315 April 2012 Henson et al.
8159843 April 2012 Lund et al.
8482153 July 2013 Ledenev
8611107 December 2013 Chapman
8693228 April 2014 Matan
8922185 December 2014 Ehlmann
9088178 July 2015 Adest
2001/0043050 November 2001 Fisher, Jr.
2002/0017822 February 2002 Umemura et al.
2002/0196026 December 2002 Kimura et al.
2005/0213272 September 2005 Kobayashi
2006/0067137 March 2006 Udrea et al.
2006/0083039 April 2006 Oliveira et al.
2007/0040539 February 2007 Cutler
2007/0040540 February 2007 Cutler
2007/0133241 June 2007 Mumtaz et al.
2007/0221267 September 2007 Fornage
2008/0055952 March 2008 Chisenga et al.
2008/0078436 April 2008 Nachamkin et al.
2008/0106921 May 2008 Dickerson et al.
2008/0183338 July 2008 Kimball et al.
2008/0203397 August 2008 Amaratunga et al.
2008/0266922 October 2008 Mumtaz et al.
2008/0272279 November 2008 Thompson
2008/0283118 November 2008 Rotzoll et al.
2008/0285317 November 2008 Rotzoll
2008/0304296 December 2008 NadimpalliRaju et al.
2009/0000654 January 2009 Rotzoll et al.
2009/0020151 January 2009 Fornage
2009/0066357 March 2009 Fornage
2009/0079383 March 2009 Fornage et al.
2009/0080226 March 2009 Fornage
2009/0084426 April 2009 Fornage et al.
2009/0086514 April 2009 Fornage et al.
2009/0097283 April 2009 Krein et al.
2009/0147554 June 2009 Adest et al.
2009/0184695 July 2009 Mocarski
2009/0200994 August 2009 Fornage
2009/0225574 September 2009 Fornage
2009/0230782 September 2009 Fornage
2009/0242272 October 2009 Little et al.
2009/0243587 October 2009 Fornage
2009/0244929 October 2009 Fornage
2009/0244939 October 2009 Fornage
2009/0244947 October 2009 Fornage
2009/0296348 December 2009 Russell et al.
2010/0085035 April 2010 Fornage
2010/0088052 April 2010 Yin et al.
2010/0091532 April 2010 Fornage
2010/0106438 April 2010 Fornage
2010/0139945 June 2010 Dargatz
2010/0175338 July 2010 Garcia Cors
2010/0176771 July 2010 Fieldhouse et al.
2010/0181830 July 2010 Fornage et al.
2010/0195357 August 2010 Fornage et al.
2010/0214808 August 2010 Rodriguez
2010/0222933 September 2010 Smith et al.
2010/0236612 September 2010 Khajehoddin et al.
2010/0263704 October 2010 Fornage et al.
2010/0283325 November 2010 Marcianesi et al.
2010/0309695 December 2010 Fornage
2011/0012429 January 2011 Fornage
2011/0019444 January 2011 Dargatz et al.
2011/0026281 February 2011 Chapman et al.
2011/0026282 February 2011 Chapman et al.
2011/0043160 February 2011 Serban
2011/0049990 March 2011 Amaratunga et al.
2011/0051820 March 2011 Fornage
2011/0130889 June 2011 Khajehoddin et al.
2012/0280673 November 2012 Watanabe
2353422 March 2004
2655007 August 2010
2693737 August 2010
20012131 March 2001
1794799 June 2007
1803161 July 2007
1837985 September 2007
2419968 May 2006
2421847 July 2006
2439648 January 2008
2434490 April 2009
2454389 May 2009
2455753 June 2009
2455755 June 2009
1021582 April 2004
1021591 April 2004
WO 2004008619 January 2004
WO 2004100348 November 2004
WO 2004100348 December 2005
WO 2006048688 May 2006
WO 2007080429 July 2007
WO 2009081205 July 2009
WO 2009081205 October 2009
WO 2009134756 November 2009

Ando et al., “Development of Single Phase UPS Having AC Chopper and Active Filter Ability,” IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, 10.1109/ICIT.2006.372445, pp. 1498-1503, 2006. cited by applicant
Biel et al., “Sliding-Mode Control Design of a Boost-Buck Switching Converter for AC Signal Generation,” vol. 51, issue 8, pp. 1539-1551, 2004. cited by applicant
Biel et al., “Sliding-Mode Control of a Single-Phase AC/DC/AC Converter,” Proceedings of the 40th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, vol. 1., pp. 903-907, Dec. 2001. cited by applicant
Bose et al., “Electrolytic Capacitor Elimination in Power Electronic System by High Frequency Filter,” Conference Record of the 1991 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, vol. 1, pp. 869-878, 1991. cited by applicant
Bower et al., “Innovative PV Micro-inverter Topology Eliminates Electrolytic Capacitors for Longer Lifetime,” Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, vol. 2, pp. 2038-2041, May 2006. cited by applicant
Bower, “The AC PV Building Block-Ultimate Plug-n-Play That Brings Photovoltaics Directly to the Customer,” Proceedings of the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) and Solar Program Review Meeting, pp. 311-314, May 2003. cited by applicant
Brekken et al., “Utility-Connected Power Converter for Maximizing Power Transfer From a Photovoltaic Source While Drawing Ripple-Free Current,” 2002 IEEE 33rd Annual Power Electronics Specialists Conference, vol. 3, pp. 1518-1522, 2002. cited by applicant
Brekken, “Utility-Connected Power Converter for Maximizing Power Transfer From a Photovoltaic Source,” Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota, Jun. 2002, 56 pages. cited by applicant
Bush, “UK Solar Firm Discloses Novel Inverter Topology,” ElectronicsWeekly.com. Apr. 2011, last accessed Aug. 30, 2011 at http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2011/04/26/50953/UK-solar-firm-discloses-novel-inverter-topology.htm. cited by applicant
Chang et al., “The Impact of Switching Strategies on Power Quality for Integral Cycle Controllers,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 1073-1078, Jul. 2003. cited by applicant
Chisenga, “Development of a Low Power Photovoltaic Inverter for Connection to the Utility Grid,” PhD Thesis, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, 173 pages, 2007. cited by applicant
Di Napoli et al., “Multiple-Input DC-DC Power Converter for Power-Flow Management in Hybrid Vehicles,” Conference Rec. IEEE Industrial Applications Soc. Annual Meeting, pp. 1578-1585, 2002. cited by applicant
Edelmoser, “Improved 2kw Solar Inverter With Wide Input Voltage Range,” IEEE 10th Mediterranean Conference, MEIeCon 2000, vol. 2, pp. 810-813, 2000. cited by applicant
Enphase Energy, “Application Note: Multi-Tenant Design Guidelines,” rev. 1, 5 pages, 2008. cited by applicant
Enphase Energy, “Enphase Field Wiring Diagram—M190 & M210 Microinverters—240v, Single Phase,” Drawing No. 144-00001, rev. 6, 1 page, 2009. cited by applicant
Enphase Energy, “Enphase Micro-Inverter Technical Data,” Doc. No. 142-00004, rev. 2, 2 pages, 2008. cited by applicant
Esram et al., “Comparison of Photovoltaic Array Maximum Power Point Tracking Techniques,” IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 439-449, Jun. 2007. cited by applicant
Henze et al., “A Novel AC Module with High-Voltage Panels in CIS Technology,” 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Valencia, Spain, ISBN 3-936338-24-8, 8 pages, Sep. 2008. cited by applicant
Hu et al., “Efficiency Improvement of Grid-tied Inverters at Low Input Power Using Pulse Skipping Control Strategy,” Twenty-Fifth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, pp. 627-633, Feb. 2010. cited by applicant
Hung et al., “Analysis and Implementation of a Delay-compensated Deadbeat Current Controller for Solar Inverters,” IEEE Proceedings—Circuits, Devices and Systems, pp. 279-286, 2001. cited by applicant
Itoh et al., “Ripple Current Reduction of a Fuel Cell for a Single-Phase Isolated Converter using a DC Active Filter with a Center Tap,” Twenty-Fourth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, APEC '09, pp. 1813-1818, 2009. cited by applicant
Jantsch et al., “AC PV Module Inverters With Full Sine Wave Burst Operation Mode for Improved Efficiency of Grid Connected Systems at Low Irradiance,” Proceedings of the 14th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 5 pages, 1997. cited by applicant
Jeong et al., “An Improved Method for Anti-Islanding by Reactive Power Control,” pp. 965-970, 2005. cited by applicant
Jung et al., “A Feedback Linearizing Control Scheme for a PWM Converter-Inverter Having a Very Small DC-Link Capacitor,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 35., issue 5, pp. 1124-1131, 1999. cited by applicant
Jung et al., “High-frequency DC Link Inverter for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System,” Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, pp. 1410-1413, 2002. cited by applicant
Kern, “SunSine300: Manufacture of an AC Photovoltaic Module, Final Report, Phases I & II, Jul. 25, 1995-Jun. 30, 1998,” NREL/SR-520-26085, 1999, 32 pages. cited by applicant
Khajehoddin et al., “A Nonlinear Approach to Control Instantaneous Power for Single-phased Grid-connected Photovoltaic Systems,” IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), pp. 2206-2212, 2009. cited by applicant
Khajehoddin et al., “A Novel Topology and Control Strategy for Maximum Power Point Trackers and Multi-string Grid-connected PV Inverters,” Applied Power Electronics Conference, APEC08, pp. 173-178, 2008. cited by applicant
Khajehoddin et al., “A Robust Power Decoupler and Maximum Power Point Tracker Topology for a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System,” IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, PESC08, pp. 66-69, 2008. cited by applicant
Kim et al., “New Control Scheme for AC-DC-AC Converter Without DC Link Electrolytic Capacitor,” 24th Annual IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, PESC '93 Record., pp. 300-306, 1993. cited by applicant
Kitano et al., “Power Sensor-less MPPT Control Scheme Utilizing Power Balance at DC Link—System Design to Ensure Stability and Response,” The 27th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, vol. 2, pp. 1309-1314, 2001. cited by applicant
Kjaer et al., “A Novel Single-Stage Inverter for the AC-module with Reduced Low-Frequency Ripple Penetration,” EPE 2003, ISBN 90-75815-07-7, 10 pages, 2003. cited by applicant
Kjaer et al., “A Review of Single-phase Grid-connected Inverters for Photovoltaic Modules,” IEEE Trans on Power Electronics, vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 1292-1306, 2005. cited by applicant
Kjaer et al., “Design Optimization of a Single Phase Inverter for Photovoltaic Applications,” IEEE 34th Annual Power Electronics Specialist Conference, PESC '03, vol. 3, pp. 1183-1190, 2003. cited by applicant
Kjaer et al., “Power Inverter Topologies for Photovoltaic Modules—A Review,” Conf. record of the 37th Industry Applications Conference, vol. 2, pp. 782-788, 2002. cited by applicant
Kjaer, “Design and Control of an Inverter for Photovoltaic Applications,” PhD Thesis, Aalborg University Institute of Energy Technology, 236 pages, 2005. cited by applicant
Kjaer, “Selection of Topologies for the PHOTOENERGY™ Project,” Aalborg University Institute of Energy Technology, 37 pages, 2002. cited by applicant
Kotsopoulos et al., “A Predictive Control Scheme for DC Voltage and AC Current in Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Inverters with Minimum Dc Link Capacitance,” The 27th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, vol. 3, pp. 1994-1999, 2001. cited by applicant
Kotsopoulos et al., “Predictive DC Voltage Control of Single-Phase PV Inverters with Small DC Link Capacitance,” 2003 IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, vol. 2, pp. 793-797, 2003. cited by applicant
Kutkut, “PV Energy Conversion and System Integration,” Florida Energy Systems Consortium, 2009, 24 pages. cited by applicant
Kwon et al., “High-efficiency Module-integrated Photovoltaic Power Conditioning System,” IET Power Electronics, doi: 10.1049/iet-pel. 2008.0023, 2008. cited by applicant
Lohner et al., “A New Panel-integratable Inverter Concept for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems,” IEEE ISIE '96, vol. 2, pp. 827-831, 1996. cited by applicant
Martins et al., “Analysis of Utility Interactive Photovoltaic Generation System Using a Single Power Static Inverter,” Conference Record of the Twenty-Eighth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, pp. 1719-1722, 2000. cited by applicant
Martins et al., “Interconnection of a Photovoltaic Panels Array to a Single-Phase Utility Line From a Static Conversion System,” Proc. IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conf., pp. 1207-1211, 2000. cited by applicant
Martins et al., “Usage of the Solar Energy from the Photovoltaic Panels for the Generation of Electrical Energy,” The 21st International Telecommunication Energy Conference, 6 pages, 1999. cited by applicant
Matsui et al, “A New Maximum Photovoltaic Power Tracking Control Scheme Based on Power Equilibrium at DC Link,” Conference Record of the 1999 IEEE Thirty-Fourth IAS Annual Meeting, vol. 2, pp. 804-809, 1999. cited by applicant
Meinhardt et al., “Miniaturised ‘low profile’ Module Integrated Converter for Photovoltaic Applications with Integrated Magnetic Components,” IEEE APEC '99, vol. 1, pp. 305-311, 1999. cited by applicant
Meza et al., “Boost-Buck Inverter Variable Structure Control for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems,” IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, vol. 2, pp. 1318-1321, 2005. cited by applicant
Midya et al., “Dual Switched Mode Power Converter,” 15th Annual Conference of IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, vol. 1, pp. 155-158, Mar. 1989. cited by applicant
Midya et al., “Sensorless Current Mode Control—An Observer-Based Technique for DC-DC Converters,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 522-526, Jul. 2001. cited by applicant
Nikraz et al., “Digital Control of a Voltage Source Inverter in Photovoltaic Applications,” 35th Annual IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, pp. 3266-3271, 2004. cited by applicant
Oldenkamp et al., “AC Modules: Past, Present and Future, Workshop Installing the Solar Solution,” Jan. 1998, Hatfield, UK, 6 pages. cited by applicant
Pajic et al., “Unity Power Factor Compensation for Burst Modulated Loads,” IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, vol. 2, pp. 1274-1277, 2003. cited by applicant
Ramos et al., “A Fixed-Frequency Quasi-Sliding Control Algorithm: Application to Power Inverters Design by Means of FPGA Implementation,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 344-355, Jan. 2003. cited by applicant
Rodriguez et al., “Analytic Solution to the Photovoltaic Maximum Power Point Problem,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, vol. 54, No. 9, pp. 2054-2060, Sep. 2007. cited by applicant
Rodriguez et al., “Dynamic Stability of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems,” Power Engineering Society General Meeting, vol. 2, pp. 2193-2199, 2004. cited by applicant
Rodriguez et al., “Long-Lifetime Power Inverter for Photovoltaic AC Modules,” IEEE Transaction on Industrial Electronics, vol. 55, No. 7, pp. 2593-2601, Jul. 2008. cited by applicant
Ropp et al., “Determining the Relative Effectiveness of Islanding Detection Methods Using Phase Criteria and Nondetection Zones,” IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 290-296, Sep. 2000. cited by applicant
Russell et al., “SunSine300 AC Module, Annual Report Jul. 25, 1995-Dec. 31, 1996,” NREL/SR-520-23432, UC Category 1280, 1997, 31 pages. cited by applicant
Schmidt et al., “Control of an Optimized Converter for Modular Solar Power Generation,” 20th International Conference on Industrial Electronics, Control and Instrumentation, vol. 1, pp. 479-484, 1994. cited by applicant
Schutten et al., “Characteristics of Load Resonant Converters Operated in a High-Power Factor Mode,” IEEE, Trans. Power Electronics, vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 5-16, 1991. cited by applicant
Sen et al., “A New DC-TO-AC Inverter With Dynamic Robust Performance,” 1998 IEEE Region 10 International Conference on Global Connectivity in Energy, Computer, Communication and Control, vol. 2, pp. 387-390, 1998. cited by applicant
Shimizu et al., “Flyback-Type Single-Phase Utility Interactive Inverter with Power Pulsation Decoupling on the DC Input for an AC Photovoltaic Module System,” IEEE, Trans. Power Electronics, vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 1264-1272, Sep. 2006. cited by applicant
Singh et al., “Comparison of PI, VSC and Energy Balance Controller for Single Phase Active Filter Control,” 1998 IEEE Region 10 International Conference on Global Connectivity in Energy, Computer, Communication and Control, vol. 2, pp. 607-614, 1998. cited by applicant
Strong et al., “Development of Standardized, Low-Cost AC PV Systems—Phase I Annual Report,” NREL/SR-520-23002, Jun. 1997, 18 pages. cited by applicant
Strong et al., “Development of Standardized, Low-Cost AC PV Systems—Final Technical Report,” NREL/SR-520-26084, Feb. 1999, 27 pages. cited by applicant
Sung et al., “Novel Concept of a PV Power Generation System Adding the Function of Shunt Active Filter,” 2002 Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exhibition: Asia Pacific, vol. 3, pp. 1658-1663, 2002. cited by applicant
Takahashi et al., “Development of Long Life Three Phase Uninterruptible Power Supply Using Flywheel Energy Storage Unit,” Proc. Int'l Conf. Power Electronics, vol. 1, pp. 559-564, 1996. cited by applicant
Takahashi et al., “Electrolytic Capacitor-Less PWM Inverter”, in Proceedings of the IPEC '90, Tokyo, Japan, pp. 131-138, Apr. 2-6, 1990. cited by applicant
Thomas et al., “Design and Performance of Active Power Filters,” IEEE IAS Magazine, 9 pages, 1998. cited by applicant
Tian, “Solar-Based Single-Stage High-Efficiency Grid-Connected Inverter,” Masters Thesis, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 83 pages, 2005. cited by applicant
Vezzini et al., “Potential for Optimisation of DC-DC Converters for Renewable Energy by use of High Bandgap Diodes,” 35th Annual IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, vol. 5, 3836-3842, 2004. cited by applicant
Wada et al., “Reduction Methods of Conducted EMI Noise on Parallel Operation for AC Module Inverters,” 2007 IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, pp. 3016-3021, Jun. 2007. cited by applicant
Wu et al., “A Single-Phase Inverter System for PV Power Injection and Active Power Filtering With Nonlinear Inductor Consideration,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 1075-1083, 2005. cited by applicant
Wu, et al., “A 1Φ 3W Grid-Connection PV Power Inverter with APF Based on Nonlinear Programming and FZPD Algorithm,” Eighteenth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, APEC '03, vol. 1, pp. 546-5552, 2003. cited by applicant
Wu, et al., “A 1Φ 3W Grid-Connection PV Power Inverter with Partial Active Power Filter,” IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 635-646, Apr. 2003. cited by applicant
Wu, et al., “PV Power Injection and Active Power Filtering With Amplitude-Clamping and Amplitude-Scaling Algorithms,” IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 731-741, 2007. cited by applicant
Xue et al., “Topologies of Single-Phase Inverters for Small Distributed Power Generators: An Overview,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 19, No. 5, pp. 1305-1314, 2004. cited by applicant

edspgr.10050446