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1 The Need for Solar-generated Power
2 The Role of the Inverter
2.1 Inverter Topologies
The Need for Solar-generated Power
The continuing rise of oil prices is fueling a worldwide concern for future access to affordable, sustainable
energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, alternative solutions such as wind, solar, biomass,
geothermal, and small hydropower technologies now supply 160 Gigawatts of generating capacity, which
is roughly four percent of the world’s total capacity. Currently, the fastest growing alternative technology is
solar power, growing at about 60 percent per year. The U.S., Germany, and Japan are leading markets for
solar power and system development, with a number of companies focused on research, development
and manufacturing activities for the delivery of photovoltaic (PV) based systems. Among these systems
are battery-operated and remote-control products; multiple-interface data-loggers; and compact,
high-performance solar inverters.
In any PV-based system, the inverter is a critical component, responsible for the control of electricity flow
between the module, battery, and loads. The system performs the conversion of the variable DC voltage
output from the solar cells into a clean sinusoidal 50- or 60-Hz current for use by appliances and for
feeding back into the grid. In addition, inverters perform such functions as disconnecting the circuit to
protect it from power surges, charging the battery, logging data on usage and performance, and maximum
power point tracking (MPPT) to keep power generation as efficient as possible. Featuring nominal power
between one and several hundred kilowatts peak (KWp), solar inverters can be designed around
sophisticated topologies, either with or without transformers, and may integrate several control processors.
Figure 1 shows where the inverter fits into an all-inclusive system that not only charges a battery and
drives local AC loads from PV panels, but also ties to the grid and has an alternate power source in the
form of an AC generator. A simpler system might just charge the battery for local use, or feed power back
to the grid without local use, or leave out the generator.
Figure 1. PV and Generator Hybrid System
2 TMS320C2000™ DSP Controllers: A Perfect Fit for Solar Power Inverters SPRAAE3 – May 2006
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