An optimum location of on-grid bifacial based photovoltaic system in Iraq

Abstract

Bifacial photovoltaic (PV) module can gain 30% more energy compared to monofacial if a suitable location were chosen. Iraq (a Middle East country) has a variable irradiation level according to its geographic coordinates, thus, the performance of PV systems differs. This paper an array (17 series, 13 parallel) was chosen to produce 100 kWp for an on-grid PV system. It investigates the PV system in three cities in Iraq (Mosul, Baghdad, and Basrah). Effect of albedo factor, high and pitch of the bifacial module on energy yield have been studied using PVsyst (software). It has been found that the effect is less for a pitch greater than 6 m. The energy gained from bifacial and monofacial PV system module in these cities shows that Mosul is the most suitable for installing both PV systems followed by Baghdad and lastly Basrah. However, in Basrah, the bifacial gain is 12% higher in the energy than monofacial as irradiation there is higher than the other locations, especially for elevation above 1.5 m. Moreover, the cost of bifacial array is 7.23% higher than monofacial, but this additional cost is acceptable since the bifacial gain is about 11.3% higher energy compared to the monofacial.