Ground sculpting to enhance energy yield of vertical bifacial solar farms

Khan, M. Ryyan; Sakr, Enas; Sun, Xingshu; Bermel, Peter; Alam, Muhammad A.

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.168

Ground sculpting to enhance energy yield of vertical bifacial solar farms

Journal Article · Thu Mar 14 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Applied Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.168· OSTI ID:1613290

Khan, M. Ryyan ^[1]; Sakr, Enas ^[2]; ^[2]; Bermel, Peter ^[2]; Alam, Muhammad A. ^[2]

East West Univ., Dhaka (Bangladesh); DOE/OSTI
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

The prospect of additional energy yield and improved reliability have increased commercial interest in bifacial solar modules. Recent publications have quantified the bifacial gain for several configurations. For example, a standalone, optimally-tilted bifacial panel placed over a flat ground (with 50% albedo) is expected to produce a bifacial energy gain of 30% (per module area). In contrast, self and mutual shading in a farm with periodically spaced panels reduces the bifacial gain to 10–15% (per farm area). Bifacial gain is negligible for vertical arrays—although the configuration is of significant interest since it can prevent soiling. Here, we calculate the bifacial gain of a solar farm where vertical arrays are placed over sculpted/patterned ground. We conclude that vertical panels straddling (upward) triangle-shaped ground maximizes the energy output. Our worldwide calculation with up-triangle ground configuration and 50% albedo leads to the following conclusion. Compared to a traditional tilted monofacial design, the bifacial gain is (i) small up to 20° latitude, (ii) increases to 50% at 40° latitude, and (iii) reaches up to 100% at 60° latitude. Overall, high bifacial gains are observed in many regions particularly those with moderate to low clearness index. The enhanced output, along with reduced soiling loss and lower cleaning cost of the ground sculpted vertical bifacial (GvBF) solar farm could be of significant technological interest, especially in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) susceptible to significant soiling losses.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0004946

OSTI ID:: 1613290

Journal Information:: Applied Energy, Journal Name: Applied Energy Vol. 241; ISSN 0306-2619

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (36)

Correlation equation for hourly diffuse radiation on a horizontal surface Orgill, J. F.; Hollands, K. G. T. Solar Energy, Vol. 19, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(77)90006-8	journal	January 1977
50 Per cent more output power from an albedo-collecting flat panel using bifacial solar cells Cuevas, A.; Luque, A.; Eguren, J. Solar Energy, Vol. 29, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(82)90078-0	journal	January 1982
Potentials for tracking photovoltaic systems and V-troughs in moderate climates Nann, Stefan Solar Energy, Vol. 45, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(90)90160-E	journal	January 1990
Double-sided n+-p-n+ solar cell for bifacial concentration Luque, A.; Cuevas, A.; Ruiz, J. M. Solar Cells, Vol. 2, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-6787(80)90007-1	journal	October 1980
Shading effects in rows of solar cell panels Passias, Dimitrios; Källbäck, Bengt Solar Cells, Vol. 11, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-6787(84)90017-6	journal	April 1984
Diffusing reflectors for bifacial photovoltaic panels Luque, A.; Lorenzo, E.; Sala, G. Solar Cells, Vol. 13, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-6787(85)90021-3	journal	January 1985
The effect of shading on the design of a field of solar collectors Bany, J.; Appelbaum, J. Solar Cells, Vol. 20, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-6787(87)90029-9	journal	April 1987
Solar radiation model Wong, L. T.; Chow, W. K. Applied Energy, Vol. 69, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-2619(01)00012-5	journal	July 2001
A new low-cost tracking ridge concentrator Poulek, V.; Libra, M. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 61, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-0248(99)00103-8	journal	March 2000
Simulation of photovoltaic centrals with dynamic shading Sánchez Reinoso, Carlos R.; Milone, Diego H.; Buitrago, Román H. Applied Energy, Vol. 103 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.09.040	journal	March 2013
Numerical investigation of dust pollution on a solar photovoltaic (PV) system mounted on an isolated building Lu, Hao; Lu, Lin; Wang, Yuanhao Applied Energy, Vol. 180 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.07.030	journal	October 2016
Levelized cost of electricity for solar photovoltaic and electrical energy storage Lai, Chun Sing; McCulloch, Malcolm D. Applied Energy, Vol. 190 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.153	journal	March 2017
Economic evaluation of maintenance strategies for ground-mounted solar photovoltaic plants Peters, Lennart; Madlener, Reinhard Applied Energy, Vol. 199 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.04.060	journal	August 2017
Vertical bifacial solar farms: Physics, design, and global optimization Khan, M. Ryyan; Hanna, Amir; Sun, Xingshu Applied Energy, Vol. 206 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.042	journal	November 2017
Optimization and performance of bifacial solar modules: A global perspective Sun, Xingshu; Khan, Mohammad Ryyan; Deline, Chris Applied Energy, Vol. 212 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.12.041	journal	February 2018
Performance evaluation of hybrid adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system models for predicting monthly global solar radiation Halabi, Laith M.; Mekhilef, Saad; Hossain, Monowar Applied Energy, Vol. 213 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.01.035	journal	March 2018
On the temporal modelling of solar photovoltaic soiling: Energy and economic impacts in seven cities You, Siming; Lim, Yu Jie; Dai, Yanjun Applied Energy, Vol. 228 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.07.020	journal	October 2018
Outdoor Performance of Bifacial Modules by Measurements and Modelling Janssen, Gaby J. M.; Van Aken, Bas B.; Carr, Anna J. Energy Procedia, Vol. 77 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.051	journal	August 2015
Effect of dust on the transparent cover of solar collectors Elminir, Hamdy K.; Ghitas, Ahmed E.; Hamid, R. H. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 47, Issue 18-19 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2006.02.014	journal	November 2006
Vertically mounted bifacial photovoltaic modules: A global analysis Guo, Siyu; Walsh, Timothy Michael; Peters, Marius Energy, Vol. 61 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.08.040	journal	November 2013
Design and evaluation of passive concentrator and reflector systems for bifacial solar panel on a highly cloudy region – A case study in Malaysia Lim, Yun Seng; Lo, Chin Kim; Kee, Shin Yiing Renewable Energy, Vol. 63 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2013.10.008	journal	March 2014
Bifacial photovoltaic panels field Appelbaum, J. Renewable Energy, Vol. 85 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.06.050	journal	January 2016
A comprehensive review of the impact of dust on the use of solar energy: History, investigations, results, literature, and mitigation approaches Sarver, Travis; Al-Qaraghuli, Ali; Kazmerski, Lawrence L. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 22 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.12.065	journal	June 2013
The role of view factors in solar photovoltaic fields Appelbaum, J. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 81 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.026	journal	January 2018
A simplified model of uniform shading in large photovoltaic arrays Deline, Chris; Dobos, Aron; Janzou, Steven Solar Energy, Vol. 96 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2013.07.008	journal	October 2013
Design, fabrication and outdoor performance analysis of a low concentrating photovoltaic system Sarmah, Nabin; Mallick, Tapas K. Solar Energy, Vol. 112 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.12.019	journal	February 2015
Innovative low concentration PV systems with bifacial solar panels Poulek, V.; Khudysh, A.; Libra, M. Solar Energy, Vol. 120 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2015.05.049	journal	October 2015
Current mismatch in PV panels resulting from different locations of cells in the panel Appelbaum, J. Solar Energy, Vol. 126 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2016.01.013	journal	March 2016
Electrical and thermal performance evaluation of symmetric truncated C-PVT trough solar collectors with vertical bifacial receivers Cabral, Diogo; Karlsson, Björn O. Solar Energy, Vol. 174 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.09.045	journal	November 2018
Analysis of the Annual Performance of Bifacial Modules and Optimization Methods Yusufoglu, Ufuk A.; Pletzer, Tobias M.; Koduvelikulathu, Lejo Joseph IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2364406	journal	January 2015
Quantification and Modeling of Spectral and Angular Losses of Naturally Soiled PV Modules John, Jim J.; Rajasekar, Vidyashree; Boppana, Sravanthi IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 5, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2015.2463745	journal	November 2015
The Influence of Spectral Albedo on Bifacial Solar Cells: A Theoretical and Experimental Study Russell, Thomas C. R.; Saive, Rebecca; Augusto, Andre IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 7, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2017.2756068	journal	November 2017
View Factors to Grounds of Photovoltaic Collectors Appelbaum, J. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 138, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4034316	journal	September 2016
View Factors of Flat Solar Collectors Array in Flat, Inclined, and Step-Like Solar Fields Fathi, Nassar Yasser; Samer, Alsadi Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 138, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4034549	journal	September 2016
A progressive refinement approach to fast radiosity image generation Cohen, Michael F.; Chen, Shenchang Eric; Wallace, John R. ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, Vol. 22, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1145/378456.378487	journal	August 1988
Modeling the interaction of light between diffuse surfaces Goral, Cindy M.; Torrance, Kenneth E.; Greenberg, Donald P. ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, Vol. 18, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1145/964965.808601	journal	July 1984

Cited By (2)

Minimising the Levelised Cost of Electricity for Bifacial Solar Panel Arrays using Bayesian Optimisation Tillmann, Peter; Jäger, Klaus; Becker, Christiane arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1909.01660	preprint	January 2019
Minimising the levelised cost of electricity for bifacial solar panel arrays using Bayesian optimisation Tillmann, Peter; Jäger, Klaus; Becker, Christiane Sustainable Energy & Fuels, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9se00750d	journal	January 2020

Similar Records

Vertical bifacial solar farms: Physics, design, and global optimization

Journal Article · Mon Sep 04 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Applied Energy · OSTI ID:1579799

Optimization and performance of bifacial solar modules: A global perspective

Journal Article · Mon Feb 05 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Applied Energy · OSTI ID:1423188

Field Performance of South-Facing and East-West Facing Bifacial Modules in the Arctic

Journal Article · Mon Feb 22 23:00:00 EST 2021 · Energies (Basel) · OSTI ID:1781572

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
bifacial
ground sculpting
solar cells
solar farm
vertical panel

Ground sculpting to enhance energy yield of vertical bifacial solar farms

Citation Formats

References (36)

Cited By (2)

Similar Records

Related Subjects