Performance evaluation of bifacial solar PV modules under different climatic regions in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria's annual solar radiation is estimated to be between 1400 and 2500 kWh/m2. This has made the use of solar energy to generate power in the country feasible. We investigated the performance of a bifacial solar PV system in Nigeria under various climatic regions in this study because bifacial PV modules are known to be location-dependent. The In-Plane solar radiation received by tilted monofacial and bifacial PV modules was calculated and compared using an analytical model. In all climatic regions, the bifacial PV system receives more in-plane solar irradiance. The systems were simulated on PVsyst to determine the energy yield, and the results show that under natural ground (vegetation and sand) of the various regions and optimization of the tilt angle, the bifacial PV system yielded more energy than the monofacial system. The bifacial gain varies depending on location, and system parameters must be optimized to improve the bifacial energy gain.