Optimum Efficiency: Analysis of Bifacial Photovoltaic Railway Noise Barrier Configuration for Green Energy Generation

Abstract Sustainable energy is a crucial aspect of our urban development, with a rising demand for energy resources, having the ability to integrate sustainable energy generation technologies with the existing infrastructure represents a possible solution for the high energy demand in populated regions. The regulations in the European Union state the maximum allowable noise levels to be 55 dB(A) in residential areas during the day and 55 dB(A) during the night, with the rising demand for reliable means of transportation, railways are becoming an essential part of the urban infrastructure. Photovoltaic noise barriers (PVNBs) are expanding globally to meet those needs, and different studies are being conducted to evaluate the performance of this technology in various scenarios and configurations. This study focuses on the performance of the Photovoltaic integrated panels without affecting the overall efficiency of the noise reduction barrier. The primary results for energy generation evaluation show that the best results can be obtained from a horizontal bifacial PVNB, meaning that the Photovoltaic segment is in a horizontal configuration mounted on top of a railway noise barrier, where five different configurations for the PVNB were studied and based on the results it is clear that the horizontal bifacial PVNB outperforms the other configurations, with the highest value for annual AC energy generated being 292 kWh and the lowest being 153 kWh, a difference of 47.6 % in value. This study was conducted mainly by using PVWatt calculator, this tool was developed by the national laboratory of the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Although it is optimal to use the vertical configuration to capture reflected indirect light, the horizontal configuration is the most efficient when it comes to energy generation. Noise mitigation efficiency is still an aspect to consider.