Modeling and simulation of a solar tracker with bifacial panel: a case study of Tehran city

Considering that Iran is one of the countries rich in energy resources, the use of renewable energy such as solar energy can help reduce dependence on fossil resources and reduce harmful environmental effects. In this article, the efficiency and energy extraction of a solar photovoltaic system through the use of a solar tracker and bifacial panels, as well as the improvement in the basic elements of a solar photovoltaic system and power plant, are discussed. By performing mechanical calculations and modeling, the structure's weight has been reduced to the lowest possible value for a 5 kW solar power plant under the research conditions. Also, by simulating the photovoltaic system in four different modes with PVsyst software, it has been shown that the amount of extracted energy for the mode where the Bifacial panel and solar tracker are used is 22.5% more than the first mode. In the end, by conducting economic studies and the obtained parameters, it was concluded that the investment cost and the annual extracted energy of the fourth state (the proposed plan of the current research) are 7.1% and 2.4% higher than the second state. A photovoltaic system with a bifacial panel and a moving structure (tracker) has more efficiency and energy extraction than the first case (one-sided panel and a fixed structure).