Assessing Glare Hindrance Three Ways in Fixed Tilt PV Systems

Glare hindrance leads to opposition against further deployment by stakeholders, like residents and passers-by, and decreases the social acceptance of solar parks in the landscape. For fixed tilt systems, the glare hindrance can be reduced by changing the design of the system, steering reflections away from the publicly accessible areas or by blocking the view lines of the public to the solar park. Preventing reflections towards public spaces has the preference. However, changing the design will lead to a lower energy yield calculation and put pressure on the business case. We present three methods based on our software suite BIGEYE to assess glare hindrance, both qualitatively as well as quantitatively for the surroundings of a solar park. Method 1 shows where the sun should be on the sky to cause glare for a given position. The second method projects the reflected light on the environment to be used to identify areas at risk of glare hindrance. The final method quantifies how often and severe the glare hindrance is over the full year for a given location. We have investigated a use case of a solar park placed on the slopes of a former landfill site next to a motorway.