Optimizing the Area of the Photovoltaic System taking into Account Shading and other Operational Conditions

The article analyzes the main factors affecting the performance of photovoltaic systems. It has been established that shading is one of the largest factors causing a decrease in the amount of energy produced and leads to two significant problems in the operation of photovoltaic modules. The main goal is to optimize the location of photovoltaic modules in a 1 MWp photovoltaic power plant. Three options are compared in terms of annual electricity production, power losses, area occupied by photovoltaic modules, and specific electricity yield. The obtained results show that when installing the photovoltaic modules at an optimal slope, a maximum specific yield of 0.168 MWh/m2/year is obtained with about 24% less area required for installing the photovoltaic modules.