Publications

Global Techno-Economic Performance of Bifacial and Tracking Photovoltaic Systems

Rodríguez-Gallegos, Carlos D.; Liu, Haohui; Gandhi, Oktoviano; Singh, Jai P.; Krishnamurthy, Vijay; Kumar, Abhishek; Stein, Joshua S.; Wang, Shitao; Li, Li; Reindl, Thomas; Peters, Ian M.

This work presents a worldwide analysis on the yield potential and cost effectiveness of photovoltaic farms composed of monofacial fixed-tilt and single/dual (1T/2T) tracker installations, as well as their bifacial counterparts. Our approach starts by estimating the irradiance reaching both the front and rear surfaces of the modules for the different system designs (validated based on data from real photovoltaic systems and results from the literature) to estimate their energy production. Subsequently, the overall system cost during their 25-year lifetime is factored in, and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is obtained. The results reveal that bifacial-1T installations increase energy yield by 35% and reach the lowest LCOE for the majority of the world (93.1% of the land area). Although dual-axis trackers achieve the highest energy generation, their costs are still too high and are therefore not as cost effective. Sensitivity analyses are also provided to show the general robustness of our findings. This work performs a comprehensive techno-economic analysis worldwide for photovoltaic systems using a combination of bifacial modules and single- and dual-axis trackers. We find that single-axis trackers with bifacial modules achieve the lowest LCOE in the majority of locations (16% reduction on average). Yield is boosted by 35% by using bifacial modules with single-axis trackers and by 40% in combination with dual-axis trackers. Energy production of photovoltaic (PV) modules can be increased not only by solar cells that are more efficient but also by innovative system concepts. In this study, we explore two such concepts in combination: tracking and bifacial modules. A tracking setup increases energy production by moving a PV module over the course of a day, so that it always faces the sun. Bifacial modules use special solar cells and a transparent cover to collect light not only from the front but also from the rear. Through recent advances, both concepts have seen price reductions that enable them to produce electricity cheaper than conventional PV systems. Here, we analyze the technical and economic aspects of combinations of these two concepts worldwide. We find that a combination of bifacial modules with one-axis trackers produces the cheapest electricity (LCOE 16% lower than conventional systems) by significantly boosting energy production (35% more than conventional systems).