Bifi UK: Investigation of bifacial and sun-tracking systems for high latitude, and high diffuse climates

Bifi UK：针对高纬度和高漫射气候的双面和太阳跟踪系统的研究

• 批准号: EP/X033333/1
• 负责人: Tasmiat Rahman
• 金额: $ 53.44万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FX033333%2F1
• 关键词: Bifi; UK; Investigation; bifacial; sun

The need for sustainable energy sources to tackle climate change, as well as provide energy independence, has seen photovoltaic (PV) systems grow at pace, reaching terawatt scale in 2022. Likewise, the UK government aims to increase PV installations 5-fold by 2030. To achieve this, the UK industry needs to align with growing trends in the global PV market, which include shifting from monofacial to bifacial modules (which utilise light exposure on both front and rear), and from fixed-tilt to sun tracking systems (which follow the sun-path throughout the day). Currently, both these growing technologies, which have significant potential for additional uplift in energy yield are not well understood in high latitude and overcast climates such as the UK. This gap in research leads to increased risk for investors and can bottleneck the growth of the PV sector. This proposal aims to narrow this gap, by developing a state-of-art outdoor testing lab for PV systems, which can accurately measure bifacial performance under sun-tracking, validate energy yield models through experimental data, and then identify systems which produce the lowest levelized cost of electricity under UK climates. Furthermore, combining the advances of bifacial and sun-tracking will help integrate solar energy for dual-land use. This is critical, as the mounting global population (and therefore land scarcity) needs to sustain not only an increase in clean energy sources, but a growing food-water-energy nexus. Two key challenges for the PV industry are lack of standards for measuring bifacial technologies, as well as lack of validation for the modelling techniques. In both cases, this is primarily concerning the irradiance on the plane-of-array (POA), i.e., light falling on the module as it is titled at an angle. The complexity of this problem is further heightened when considering tracking technologies that move the tilt angle throughout the day. Therefore, the first aim of this research is to develop instrumentation and procedures for measuring such data accurately including standardisation of rear side irradiance (and therefore albedo which is the ratio of front and back irradiance); monitoring the tracking angle; and finally, the temperature and soiling as well. This lays the foundation for validation of different sun-tracking technologies via field testing, creating UK's one-of-a-kind outdoor experimental facilities for PV systems. This includes standard fixed-tilt systems placed at an optimal angle; Single-Axis-Tracking which follows the sun in one direction (typically east-west), and Dual-axis tracking which can follow in both east-west and north-south directions (more expensive, but highest potential for energy yield uplift). These critical measurements will help identify limitation in the modelling techniques (from simple empirical techniques to more complex computer intensive ray-trace models) used to estimate the POA irradiance and help improve accuracy of energy yield estimation by utilising the real-world data. Finally, the levelized cost of electricity can be mapped for different tracking technologies, and analysed in the context of dual-land use, electricity spot price markets, and environmental costs.The challenges above will be addressed by a collaborative effort from an international and industrial team, led by the University of Southampton, which includes pioneering researchers on bifacial tracking at NREL and SERIS; world-leading instrumentation expertise at NPL and the Chilbolton Observatory; and Corrie-Energy, a UK SME developing low-cost dual-axis trackers. The research will deliver key impact through improving global standards for bifacial tracking measurements; building open-source datasets for validated systems in the UK; and finally identifying economic and environmental viability. This will benefit industries across the sector, from SMEs manufacturing tracking systems, to asset managers installing utility scale systems.

对可持续能源的需求，以应对气候变化，以及提供能源独立，已经看到光伏（PV）系统的步伐增长，在2022年达到太瓦规模。同样，英国政府的目标是到2030年将光伏安装量增加5倍。为了实现这一目标，英国光伏行业需要与全球光伏市场的增长趋势保持一致，其中包括从单面转向双面模块（利用正面和背面的曝光），以及从固定倾斜转向太阳跟踪系统（全天跟踪太阳路径）。目前，这两种不断发展的技术，有显着的潜力，进一步提升能源产量没有得到很好的理解，在高纬度和多云的气候，如英国。这种研究差距导致投资者的风险增加，并可能阻碍光伏行业的增长。该提案旨在缩小这一差距，通过开发一个最先进的光伏系统户外测试实验室，该实验室可以准确测量太阳跟踪下的双面性能，通过实验数据验证能源产量模型，然后确定在英国气候下产生最低水平化电力成本的系统。此外，结合双面和太阳跟踪的进步将有助于整合太阳能用于双土地使用。这一点至关重要，因为不断增加的全球人口（因此土地稀缺）不仅需要维持清洁能源的增加，而且需要维持日益增长的粮食-水-能源关系。光伏行业面临的两个关键挑战是缺乏衡量双面技术的标准，以及缺乏对建模技术的验证。在这两种情况下，这主要涉及阵列平面（POA）上的辐照度，即，当模块倾斜成一定角度时，光落在模块上。当考虑全天移动倾斜角度的跟踪技术时，这个问题的复杂性进一步提高。因此，本研究的第一个目的是开发仪器和程序，用于准确测量这些数据，包括后侧辐照度的标准化（以及因此，前后辐照度之比）;监测跟踪角;最后，温度和污垢。这为通过现场测试验证不同的太阳跟踪技术奠定了基础，创建了英国独一无二的光伏系统户外实验设施。这包括以最佳角度放置的标准固定倾斜系统;单轴跟踪，其在一个方向上（通常是东西）跟随太阳，以及双轴跟踪，其可以在东西和南北方向上跟随（更昂贵，但能量产量提升的潜力最大）。这些关键的测量将有助于确定用于估计POA辐照度的建模技术（从简单的经验技术到更复杂的计算机密集型射线跟踪模型）的局限性，并通过利用真实世界的数据来帮助提高能量产量估计的准确性。最后，电力的平准化成本可以映射为不同的跟踪技术，并在双重土地使用，电力现货价格市场和环境成本的背景下进行分析。上述挑战将由一个国际和工业团队的合作努力来解决，该团队由南安普顿大学领导，其中包括NREL和SERIS的双面跟踪先驱研究人员; NPL和Chilbolton天文台的世界领先的仪器专业知识;以及Corrie-Energy，一家开发低成本双轴跟踪器的英国中小企业。该研究将通过改进双面跟踪测量的全球标准，为英国的验证系统构建开源数据集，并最终确定经济和环境可行性，产生关键影响。这将使整个行业受益，从制造跟踪系统的中小企业到安装公用事业规模系统的资产管理公司。