A sliding mode controller for the single-phase grid-connected photovoltaic system has been proposed in this paper. Contrary to the conventional controller, the proposed system consists of maximum power point tracker (MPPT) controller and sliding mode current controller only. The proposed MPPT controller generates current reference directly from the solar array power information and the current controller uses the sliding mode technique for the tight regulation of current. The new MPPT controller does not require the measurement of the voltage derivative which can be a cause of divide-by-zero singularity problems. The sliding mode controller has been constructed based on a time-varying sliding surface to control the sinusoidal inductor current and solar array power simultaneously. The proposed system can avoid the current overshoot and make optimal design for the system components. The structures of a proposed system are simple, but they show the robust tracking property against modeling uncertainties and parameter variations. The mathematical modeling is developed and the experimental results verify the validity of the proposed controller. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.