Presentation Details
| Field Comparison of Snow Losses in Bifacial Fixed Tilt Versus Single Axis Tracking PV system (yes) Ayush Chutani, Isobel Bowker, Ana Dyreson, . Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA |
Abstract
Snow accumulation remains a persistent performance limiter for photovoltaic systems in cold climates, where partial or full module occlusion can suppress output for hours to days after a storm. This study compares winter energy yield and snow related losses for two configurations at the Michigan Regional Test Center in Houghton, Michigan: a south facing 35-degree fixed tilt bifacial array and a bifacial single axis tracker. System Advisor Model (SAM) simulations were driven with site measured plane of array irradiance, albedo, ambient temperature, and ground snow depth. Snow free baselines were calibrated using clear sky days to align modeled and measured inverter energy, then used to quantify snow losses during image confirmed snow covered periods. Measured generation generally follows the expected trend, with the tracker producing higher daily and monthly energy on most days in January and February 2025, although how much is highly depending on the conditions. Monthly measured energy totals were 64.7 kWh for the tracker and 46.8 kWh for fixed tilt in January, and 176.7 kWh and 170.2 kWh in February, corresponding to tracker gains of 38.1 percent and 3.8 percent. Relative to ideal production, fixed tilt lost 171.8 kWh in January (78.6 percent of ideal) and 207.0 kWh in February (54.9 percent). Event scale analysis during February storms shows that coverage fraction and clearing timing dominate performance and can temporarily reduce the expected advantage of tracking. These results provide field evidence to guide PV system design in snowy northern climates and support benchmarking of SAM snow loss models with longer winter datasets.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.