Abstract
Numerous global peak searching mechanisms have been proposed to solve the problem of energy loss due to partial shading of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants but still there is a great need for an efficient and fast global maximum power point tracker (GMPPT). A detailed review of GMPPT based on various meta-heuristic and classical methods along with the basics of partial shading phenomenon, proper positioning of the PV panels, distributed MPPT, Field MPPT etc. will be of great help to the researchers. Till date, it looks like that not a single literature has covered these issues at a single place and thus, this article fills this gap by providing a detailed assessment, tabulated gist of the various GMPPT along with the basics of key issues related to partial shading of PV plants. Various classical and bio-inspired meta-heuristic based GMPPT methods have been compared in this literature. It is expected that this paper will prove to be a valuable asset and a complete reference for the academicians and professionals for further research and proper selection of a GMPPT technique.