Optimal distribution for photovoltaic solar trackers to minimize power losses caused by shadows

The typical design of photovoltaic facilities with photovoltaic solar trackers is achieved using a squared or diagonal distribution of the trackers. In general, this is a good distribution for harvesting most solar radiation. However, these facilities can be affected by shadows of environmental objects like buildings, vegetation, etc. In this paper, a metaheuristic method based on evolution strategies is presented for calculating the best location of each tracker on a building of irregular shape, considering the shadows caused by obstacles and photovoltaic trackers. The evolution strategies will use the energy readings obtained by a photovoltaic tracker distribution to look for the best location. In the calculus of the energy, solar charts are used to combine the solar radiation received and shadows suffered by the tracker for each solar position. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.