Operation and Evaluation of a Bifacial PV Module Test Setup

Bifacial solar panels on industrial roofs are a good option to boost the annual yield. Because of the influence factor albedo, the yield of bifacial PV installations is difficult to simulate and to predict. To evaluate the effect and benefit, a choice of 20 modules including dummies were installed on a white painted industrial flat roof using a bifacial PV module supporting construction. The daily yield per module was measured using previous checked power optimizers and the received data by the monitoring portal was evaluated over one year. For the investigated setup, it could be shown that a benefit of around 17 % for the east and 14 % for the west orientated bifacial modules is given in the beginning. After one year of operation, a measured benefit of 7 % for the east and 5 % for the west orientated panel remained due to pollution and albedo loss.