Solar photovoltaic systems

A photovoltaic power generation system, the system comprising:

• at least two photovoltaic panels each having a dc power output;
• a power conditioning unit having a dc power input and an ac mains power supply output for delivering an ac mains power supply;
• wherein said dc power outputs of said at least two photovoltaic panels are connected in parallel with one another to said dc power input of said power conditioning unit;
• wherein said power conditioning unit includes an energy storage capacitor to store energy from said photovoltaic panels and a dc-to-ac converter having a dc input coupled to said energy storage capacitor and an ac output coupled to said ac mains power supply output;
• wherein said power conditioning unit comprises a controller coupled to control said dc-to-ac converter to perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT);
• wherein said controller has a sense input coupled to said energy storage capacitor to sense at said energy storage capacitor a signal responsive to a level of power flowing into said dc power input of said power conditioning unit, wherein said controller is configured to perform said MPPT by controlling said dc-to-ac converter to control power injected into said ac mains power supply responsive to said level of power flowing into said dc input of said power conditioning unit sensed at said energy storage capacitor.

A photovoltaic power generation system, the system comprising:

• at least two photovoltaic panels each having a dc power output;
• a power conditioning unit having a dc power input and an ac mains power supply output for delivering an ac mains supply;
• wherein said dc power outputs of said at least two photovoltaic panels are connected in parallel with one another to said dc power input of said power conditioning unit;
• wherein said power conditioning unit comprises a dc-to-ac converter and a dc link between said dc power input of said power conditioning unit and an input of said dc-to-ac converter, wherein said dc-to-ac converter has an output coupled to said ac mains power supply output, and wherein said power conditioning unit further comprises an energy storage capacitor coupled to said dc link;
• wherein said energy storage capacitor is a non-electrolytic capacitor;
• and
• wherein said power conditioning unit is configured to perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT) responsive to a level of power flowing into said dc power input.

A method generating an ac mains power supply from a plurality of photovoltaic panels, the method comprising:

• connecting dc power outputs from said photovoltaic panels in parallel to the input of a power conditioning unit;
• converting said flow of dc power into a said ac mains power supply using said power supply using said power conditioning unit, wherein said converting comprises converting said input flow of dc power units into an intermediate flow of dc power on a dc link of said power conditioning unit coupled to an energy storage capacitor, and converting said intermediate flow of dc power to said ac mains power supply;
• and
• tracking substantially a maximum power point of said common input flow of dc power.

A system for generating an ac mains power supply from a plurality of photovoltaic panels, the system comprising:

• means for connecting dc power outputs from said photovoltaic panels in parallel to the input of a power conditioning unit to provide a common flow of dc power;
• means for converting said flow of dc power into a said ac mains power supply using said power conditioning unit, wherein said converting comprises converting said input flow of dc power into an intermediate flow of dc power on a dc link of said power conditioning unit coupled to an energy storage capacitor;
• means for converting said intermediate flow of dc power to said ac mains power supply;
• and
• means for tracking substantially a maximum power point of said common input flow of dc power.