Bifacial photovoltaic panels field

J. Appelbaum

Renewable Energy, 2016, vol. 85, issue C, 338-343

Abstract: Bifacial solar cells may produce more output energy than mono-facial solar cells because both sides of the cell, front and rear, can absorb solar radiation. This occurs when the nearby ground or other artificial surfaces are highly reflective. A gain in output power of 5–20% has been reported in the literature for special applications. The present article deals with the calculation of the annual incident irradiation on a solar field comprising of bifacial photovoltaic panels deployed in multiple rows and separated by a distance between the rows. These types of fields are designed for large scale solar electricity production. The calculation of the annual incident irradiation is compared between two types of deployments: (a) bifacial photovoltaic panels installed with an optimal tilt angle facing south, (b) bifacial photovoltaic panels installed vertically and facing the east-west direction. The study shows that bifacial photovoltaic panels installed with an optimal tilt angle may produce 32% more energy than vertical bifacial photovoltaic panels, for the same environmental conditions. On the other hand, more vertical collectors can be installed in fields with the same field dimensions.

Keywords: Bifacial PV panels; Solar calculation; Vertical and inclined bifacial PV panels field (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:85:y:2016:i:c:p:338-343

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.06.050

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