Modelling the Impact of Array Wiring on Electrical Output of Vertical Bifacial Agrivoltaic Installations

Abstract

We present a model and study investigating the potential power output of vertical bifacial solar panels on New Jersey farms. The simulation calculates instantaneous brightness and shading based on the position of the sun and adjacent rows of panels, and uses that to calculate current and voltage values. We explore different strategies to improve the power output further. Double-high modules, which use two panels stacked together, offer significant gains per acre with only a modest increase of inter-row shading. When bypass diodes and improved inverter wiring are also used, much of the losses due to shading are avoided, and the total power output per acre is nearly doubled. In a double high configuration it is advantageous to have the top and bottom modules on separate inverter strings.

Keywords

• Agrivoltaics
• Vertical Bifacial Panels
• Modelling