Partially shaded photovoltaic (PV) modules typically exhibit additional difficulties in tracking the maximum power point since their power-voltage characteristics are complex and may have multiple local maxima. For this reason, conventional techniques fail to track the maximum power point effectively if the PV array is partially shaded or some of its cells are damaged. This paper presents a novel power compensation system for PV arrays for complicated non-uniform insolation conditions. The proposed system is based on recovering the power of non-shaded PV modules into the system again completely by forward biasing a bypass diode of the shaded PV modules. For this purpose, the proposed system uses dc-dc converters equipped with each PV string in the PV array. For identifying which shaded PV modules should be deactivated, the operating voltage of the PV modules are monitored and compared. The proposed system enables the non-shaded PV modules to operate effectively at their normal maximum power point. The effectiveness of the proposed system is investigated and confirmed for complicated partially shaded PV arrays. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.