Daniel Alvarez Mira

Mr. Daniel Alvarez Mira

DTU - Technical University of Denmark
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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27 November 2020 in Applied Sciences
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Nicholas Riedel-LyngskærNicholas Riedel-Lyngskær
Nicholas Riedel-Lyngskær
Djaber BerrianDjaber Berrian
Djaber Berrian
DMDaniel Alvarez Mira
Daniel Alvarez Mira
APAlexander Aguilar Protti
Alexander Aguilar Protti
Peter Behrensdorff PoulsenPeter Behrensdorff Poulsen
Peter Behrensdorff Poulsen
JVJan Vedde
Jan Vedde
The size and number of utility-scale bifacial photovoltaic (PV) installations has proliferated in recent years but concerns over modeling accuracy remain. The aim of this work is to provide the PV community with a validation study of eight tools used to simulate bifacial PV performance. We simulate real 26 kilowatt-peak (kWp) bifacial arrays within a 420-kWp site located in northern Europe (55.6° N, 12.1° E). The substructures investigated include horizontal single-axis trackers (HSATs) and fixed tilt racks that have dimensions analogous to those found in utility-scale PV installations. Each bifacial system has a monofacial reference system with similar front side power. We use on-site solar radiation (global, diffuse, and beam) and albedo measurements from spectrally flat class A sensors as inputs to the simulation tools, and compare the modeled values to field measurements of string level power, rear and front plane of array irradiance, and module temperature. Our results show that state-of-the-art bifacial performance models add ~0.5% uncertainty to the PV modeling chain. For the site investigated, 2-D view factor fixed tilt simulations are within ±1% of the measured monthly bifacial gain. However, simulations of single-axis tracker systems are less accurate, wherein 2-D view factor and 3-D ray tracing are within approximately 2% and 1% of the measured bifacial gain, respectively.