Optimization and performance of bifacial PV system compared to monofacial

This study presents a comparative analysis of a bifacial photovoltaic (BFPV) system with a monofacial (MFPV) one, installed on the rooftop of the Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania (choosing the same size of 168 kWp). The row spacing is 1.9m, the PV height is 0.3m, and the orientation is to the south (1680). The simulations show that the BFPV system performs better every month, increasing the annual PV Energy by 8.3%. Furthermore, to find the optimal design, the impact of tilt angle, elevation, and albedo on the Specific Annual Yield of the BFPV system is studied. Keeping the orientation and the row spacing unchanged, it turns out that the optimal tilt angle is 250 (against 280 in the MFPV system), the optimal height is 0.3 m, and the optimal albedo value is 0.9 (white surface). Comparing it with the optimized MFPV system, this configuration would give a gain of 15.7%. However, for albedo values up to 0.35, the optimal tilt angle for BFPV is 200. On the other hand, using a regression analysis (considering R2 and P-value) through the obtained results, Specific Annual Yield and Bifacial Gain (BG) are expressed as a third-order polynomial equation depending on the above parameters.