This paper presents a fast maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control algorithm for the photovoltaic (PV) in a hybrid wind-PV system, in which the PV generator may also need to work in a reduced power mode (RPM) to avoid dynamic overloading. The two control modes, MPPT and RPM, are inherently compatible and can be readily implemented, without the need of a dumping load for the RPM. Following the establishment of a dynamic system model, the study develops the guidelines to determine the variables of a direct hill-climbing method for MPPT: the perturbation time intervals and the magnitudes of the applied perturbations. These results are then used to optimally set up a variable-step size incremental conductance (VSIC) algorithm along with adaptive RPM control. The power tracking performance and power limiting capability are verified by simulation and experiment.