Viewfactor and Raytracing for AgriPV Modeling

Silvana Ovaitt, Austin Kinzer, Matthew Boyd, James Jones, Chris Deline, Jordan Macknick

Research output: NRELPresentation

Abstract

View factor models are used in due diligence software to calculate rear irradiance for bifacial modules. An intermediate step in this calculation is the irradiance at the ground level, which can be leveraged for evaluating the Photo Active Radiation available for crops in Agrivoltaic setups. This paper presents the metrics and modifications to the model for ground irradiance study with the view factor approach, compares it to the raytracing method, and validates it with field measurements of ground irradiance. It is found that for the clearances, row-to-row setups, and tilts studied, the view factor method matches with raytracing results within 2% MBD. The comparison is performed for the nine most common agriPV configurations using high-performance computing and the NSRDB database for the whole US, with results and data made available open-source on the InSPIRE AgriPV website.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages19
StatePublished - 2023

Publication series

NamePresented at the 50th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 11-16 June 2023, San Juan, Puerto Rico

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/PR-5K00-86631

Keywords

  • AgriPV
  • agrivoltaics
  • bifacial photovoltaics
  • bifacial PV
  • crops
  • energy yield
  • model validation
  • raytrace
  • solar and agriculture
  • view factor

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