When and Where to Track: A Worldwide Comparison of Single-axis Tracking vs. Fixed Tilt Bifacial Farms

The quest to increase the energy yield of solar PV farms has led to extensive research on bifacial modules and tracking systems. Previous studies have shown ~12% increase in power for single-axis tracking of standalone bifacial PV modules, but the corresponding gain for bifacial solar farms remains unknown. In this paper, we demonstrate the modeling and physics of single-axis tracking bifacial PV farms that include the essential aspect of mutual shading between the rows of PV panels. Our results show that single-axis tracking bifacial farms outperform fixed mono/bifacial for locations and times with higher direct light fraction. The worldwide maps show a range of yearly power gain from 10-20% for latitudes > 40°. Overall, a judicious deployment of single-axis tracking bifacial solar PV farms would offer immense potential in energy yield maximization and eventual LCOE minimization.