Dynamic Reconfiguration of Electrical Connections for partially shaded PV Modules: Technical and Economical Performances of an Arduino-based Prototype

The partial shading phenomenon is a well known problem of photovoltaic plants. Partial shading leads to undesirable effects such as the electrical mismatch, the generation of hot spots and generally the decrease of production of electric energy. To mitigate the last effect, a dynamic reconfiguration of the electrical connections between modules was taken into account. In this paper, starting from an already developed system for a small-scale PV plant reconfiguration, the study of the economical benefits of the employment of a reconfiguration system are traced. Five different incentive policies of diverse Countries have been considered to evaluate the increase of Net Present Value of PV modules with and without a reconfiguration system.