A comprehensive assessment of electrical performance and mismatch losses in bifacial PV module under different front and rear side shading scenarios

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Bifacial modules are expected to enable greater energy generation at reduced cost owing to their dual face absorption nature, however this requires an in-depth understanding of the inherent self-shading of module. A cumulative effect of front and rear side inhomogeneity of irradiance may lead to difference in electrical performance of a bifacial module with respect to monofacial module, under similar shading scenarios. In this research work, an extensive analysis has been carried out through ray tracing simulations and a cell level electrical model of a bifacial module to evaluate the effect of front and rear side inhomogeneity in irradiance. The results for front side shading present a likeness to monofacial modules under similar shading conditions. The more critical and inherent rear-side inhomogeneity along with associated mismatch losses have been quantified through a novel linear model, developed to predict the mismatch loss in a bifacial PV module with high accuracy (R2 91.4%, MAE 1.63% and RMSE 1.91%). Using the model, discussion has been presented on mismatch losses in a 3x3 bifacial PV array, demonstrating the impact of rear inhomogeneity induced mismatch losses on overall system performance. A novel sensitivity study is also carried out to assess the impact of installation parameters on mismatch losses. The significance of this study is the importance of such in-depth assessment for future reliability studies as well as developing standard procedures for hotspot testing and mitigation for a bifacial PV module.