ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Solar Energy
Optimal Power Extraction and Voltage Regulation in Standalone Photovoltaic System
Provisionally accepted
- Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Chennai, India
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Access to reliable and sustainable energy remains a critical challenge in remote areas where conventional grid infrastructure is unavailable. Stand-Alone Photovoltaic (SAPV) systems provide an effective alternative for decentralized power generation, but their efficiency is often limited by fluctuating solar irradiance and load variations. This paper presents the real-time implementation and validation of a boost converter for SAPV systems using OPAL-RT technology. The boost converter plays a pivotal role in optimizing the photovoltaic (PV) output voltage, ensuring a stable and enhanced power supply to connected loads. By integrating OPAL-RT's real-time simulation and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, the proposed system undergoes rigorous assessment under dynamic environmental conditions, emulating real-world scenarios. The experimental results demonstrate significant improvements in voltage regulation, system efficiency, and adaptability to variable solar conditions. Furthermore, the proposed approach highlights the potential for scalable deployment of SAPV systems in off-grid regions, contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions. This study underscores the importance of real-time validation methodologies in enhancing renewable energy system performance, paving the way for more reliable and efficient SAPV implementations. This paper presents a potential, developing yet easy-to-implement and scalable solution for maintaining a stable PV output voltage despite fluctuations in solar irradiance. The proposed system integrates a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm using the Perturb & Observe (P&O) method with a Proportional-Integral (PI) controller, ensuring optimal power extraction and voltage regulation.
Keywords: HIL (hardware-in-the-loop), OPAL-RT, MPPT (maximum power point tracking), P&O (Perturb & Observe), RPS (Regulated Power Supply), SAPV (Stand-Alone Photovoltaic)
Received: 11 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kumar, Shubham, Tiwari, K and OV. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Gnana Swathika OV, gnanaswathika.ov@vit.ac.in
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