Title:	How High Albedo Improves Vertical Bifacial PV Performance: Simulations and Measurements on a Solar Noise Barrier
Author(s):	S. Villa, M.M. de Jong, J.C.P. Kester, A.R. Burgers, W. Folkerts
Keywords:	Bifacial, Performance, Albedo
Topic:	PV Applications and Integration
Subtopic:	PV on/in Buildings, Infrastructure, Landscape, Water and Nature
Event:	37th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
Session:	6CV.2.20
Pages:	1923 - 1926
ISBN:	3-936338-73-6
Paper DOI:	10.4229/EUPVSEC20202020-6CV.2.20
Price:	0,00 EUR
Document(s):	paper, poster

Abstract/Summary:

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Vertical bifacial PV systems are becoming of great interest, also thanks to their adaptability to new PV systems integration options, such as on solar noise barriers. A substantial part of the extra yield of those systems comes from harvesting diffuse and reflected irradiance, therefore it is crucial to understand, quantify and optimise the effect of albedo on this type of PV systems. The goal of this work is to show that enhanced albedo can significantly contribute to improving the energy yield of vertical bifacial PV systems. The investigation of the albedo effect is performed both from an experimental and modelling point of view, using the case study of Solar Highways (SH), currently the largest bifacial solar noise barrier in the world. More than 1 year of measurements revealed that placing a high-albedo patch on the rear east side of a SH element led to a monthly energy gain of 3%. On sunny days the energy boost reached more than 6%. Simulations performed with the bifacial PV modelling tool BIGEYE showed that the gain associated with enhanced albedo can go up to 10%/year thanks to the optimisation of some configuration parameters such as albedo coefficient and ground slope.