Simulation and computation of shadow losses of direct normal, diffuse solar radiation and albedo in a photovoltaic field with multiple 2-axis trackers using ray tracing methods

Ray tracing methods are presented to simulate and compute shadow losses for direct, diffuse solar radiation and albedo in a PV field with multiple 2-axis trackers, which can be implemented with any ray tracing software. The methods are simple and precise and can be used to calculate losses for a very large number of trackers with any kind of PV panel, either traditional PV or concentrated photovoltaic panels. Three methods were developed, one for d.n.i., one for diffuse radiation and another for albedo shadow losses. Two case studies were performed, using these methods and their results compared with those of a commercial software both to illustrate and validate their application.

► A method to compute shading losses in PV fields with 2-axis trackers is proposed. ► Ray tracing software is used to account for the motions of sun and trackers. ► Ease of use and good results were obtained in comparison with previous methods. ► The method is simple, easy to implement and software independent.