Review of three port micro-inverter with power decoupling capability for photovoltaic (PV) systems applications

The Photovoltaic (PV) systems have been realized using different architectures, starting with the string and centralized PV system to the modular PV system. Presently, decentralized inverters are being developed at the PV panel power level (known as AC – PV Modules). Such new PV systems are becoming more attractive and many expect this will be the trend of the future. The AC-Module PV system consists of an inverter attached to one PV panel. This integration requires that both devices have the same life-span. Although, the available commercial inverters have a relatively short life-span (10 years) compared to the 25 –year PV. It has been stated in literature that the energy storage capacitor (electrolytic type) in the single-phase inverter is the most vulnerable electronic component. Hence, many techniques such as (power decoupling techniques) have been proposed to solve this problem by replacing the large electrolytic capacitor with a small film capacitor. This paper will present a quick review of these power decoupling techniques, and proposes a new three-port micro-inverter with power decoupling capability for AC-module PV system applications.