Assessment of Solar Powered High-Gain Transformerless Converter with Golden Jackal Optimization–Based Maximum Power Point Tracking Approach

The proposal of this paper is a performance analysis of a solar-powered High-Gain Transformerless (HGT) step-up converter using a Golden Jackal Optimization (GJO) based Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) approach for enhanced power conversion. The HGT step-up converter is designed to increase the output voltage of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) systems to the necessary level. The SPV systems encounter significant challenges in optimizing power extraction under fluctuating environmental conditions, especially during partial shading and rapidly changing irradiance levels. Conventional MPPT approaches often exhibit sluggish convergence, oscillations around the Maximum Power Point (MPP), and poor performance in dynamic environments. Consequently, a GJO-based MPPT methodology is proposed to increase the efficiency of solar energy extraction. A thorough comparative analysis of the conventional step-up converter and the proposed HGT step-up converter is presented, emphasizing component count and boost factor. Additionally, the proposed GJO-based MPPT approach is compared with the conventional Incremental Conductance based MPPT approach, and the outcomes are assessed in terms of oscillations, convergence, and voltage gain. The simulation of SPV using an HGT step-up converter with a GJObased MPPT approach demonstrates enhanced performance, with reduced output oscillations and a voltage gain of 6. In addition, the results are evaluated under uniform and non-uniform irradiance conditions at 550, 700, 850, and 1000 W/m2 respectively.