In this paper, a new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) system for photovoltaic applications is presented. The proposed system consists of two analog loops, a current and a voltage loop, built around a boost converter and a digital loop for the computation of the maximum power point. The analog loops provide a fast response to sudden changes of irradiance conditions while the digital loop, enhancing the accuracy, allows the implementation of various MPPT algorithms and facilitates the integration of additional control and monitoring features. Different existing systems are simulated and compared. A small signal model for the proposed system is developed and a novel compensation method is found. The compensation is designed in such a way that it makes the system independent of the input panel used and also of the load connected at the output. In order to have fast simulation results, a macromodel is developed allowing comparison between different algorithms. Furthermore the "perturb and observe" (P&O) algorithm is improved to obtain a better response for changing irradiance conditions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.