Photovoltaic array reconfiguration under partial shading conditions based on ant colony optimization

The utilization of photovoltaic (PV) array installations to acquire solar energy is one of the most important ways of renewable energy obtain. However, the power output of the PV array installations will decrease greatly under partial shading conditions. This paper proposes a new approach for reconfiguration of PV array to extract maximum power using ant colony optimization (ACO). To prove the validity of the approach, the simulations are performed in Matlab-Simulink comparing with Total cross tied (TCT) configuration. The simulation results show that the proposed approach can enhance efficiency of power extraction from the PV array under partial shading condition.