October 31, 2024
Emiliano Bellini

Researchers from Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) have created a two-dimensional (2D) modeling tool for the deployment of large-scale bifacial PV installations using single-axis trackers on terrain with arbitrary orientation and slope.

The proposed model is intended to reduce performance losses caused by the fact that north-south aligned single-axis trackers are often deployed on uneven east-west slopes.

“This paper first outlines some relevant assumptions that standard PV software relies on to simplify the simulation of energy yield and highlights the horizontal constraint, which does not necessarily require the terrain to be horizontal, but only that the slope angle of the transversal axes be zero,” the research group said. “The mathematical basis for modifications to overcome the horizontal constraint while maintaining these assumptions is then described.”

Scientists have used Sisyphus softwarean open PV simulation tool developed by UPM itself and said it can overcome the horizontal constraint of conventional modeling solutions, while relying on 2D modeling and a single representative trace row. Also, simple equations were developed to monitor the motion control of the trackers.

The proposed approach assumes that the length of the axis is infinite and the height of the axis above the ground is constant throughout its length. “This leads to the reliance on 2D modeling, which reduces the description of the geometry to a projection onto a plane normal to the tracking axes, i.e. the transverse plane of the axes,” the researchers explained. “On the other hand, it is assumed that the number of axes is infinite, and that the axes are periodically arranged so that they all lie in the same plane, parallel to the ground, and equidistant.”

Thanks to the software, the researchers analyzed a bifacial single-axis tracking PV installation on land that slopes only in the east-west direction, each particular case being defined by the soil inclinations and the azimuth of the axis. They also simulated a reference PV installation installed on a horizontal plot with an axis facing south.

The analysis showed that PV installations in multifaceted terrains should be approached by considering the terrains to be composed of a set of flattened areas, each with a given azimuth and slope, each area having to host a set of tracking axes with one axis date. azimuth Modeling was described in the study “Single axis tracking and bifacial gain on sloped terrain“, published in Advances in photovoltaics.

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