Title:	Advanced Method to Determine the Gain of Bifacial PV Systems
Author(s):	D. Stellbogen, P. Lechner, J. Kriening, O. Schanz, D. Geyer
Keywords:	Performance, Quality Testing, Irradiation Measurement, Albedo, Bifacial PV
Topic:	PV Systems – Modelling, Design, Operation and Performance
Subtopic:	Operation, Performance and Maintenance of PV Systems
Event:	38th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
Session:	5DO.3.1
Pages:	1054 - 1059
ISBN:	3-936338-78-7
Paper DOI:	10.4229/EUPVSEC20212021-5DO.3.1
Price:	0,00 EUR
Document(s):	paper, presentation

Abstract/Summary:

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An experimental bifacial PV test installation has been setup to evaluate a novel approach for determining the bifacial gain, which applies an internal monofacial reference established by covering bifacial PV modules on the back. The direct comparison of bifacial and ‘monofacial’ operation allows monitoring the bifacial gain of a PV plant in operation and solves the issue of finding an appropriate reference. The bifacial gain observed in the test system was about 7 %, proving the usefulness of bifacial PV modules also on mounting racks not optimized for bifacial PV. Measurements of albedo and backside irradiance enable the detailed evaluation of the bifacial PV performance. However, measurement of the backside irradiation is complex and over- or underestimation has to be carefully avoided. The method of internal monofacial reference shall be developed further for supervision and fault detection in Bifacial PV plants.