Cost of energy and mutual shadows in a two-axis tracking PV system

The performance improvement obtained from the use of trackers in a PV system cannot be separated from the higher requirement of land due to the mutual shadows between generators. Thus, the optimal choice of distances between trackers is a compromise between productivity and land use to minimize the cost of the energy produced by the PV system during its lifetime.This paper develops a method for the estimation and optimization of the cost of energy function. It is built upon a set of equations to model the mutual shadows geometry and a procedure for the optimal choice of the wire cross-section. Several examples illustrate the use of the method with a particular PV system under different conditions of land and equipment costs.This method is implemented using free software available as supplementary material.

► This paper defines the cost of energy function in a two-axis tracking PV system. ► A procedure is defined for the estimation and optimization of this function. ► The method integrates mutual shadows geometry and optimal choice of wire cross-section. ► The function is less sensitive to changes in the East-West distances than in the North-South distances. ► The method and the examples are implemented using free software.