Effects of surroundings snow coverage and solar tracking on photovoltaic systems operating in Canada

This paper deals with demonstrating the energy performance of solar tracking photovoltaic (PV) systems in Canada. In this study, a grid connected stand-alone PV system has been designed and coupled with four different tracking systems: fixed horizontal, fixed tilted, single-axis tracking, and dual-axis tracking. The performance analysis of the systems focuses on the variation of array irradiance, electricity generation, and efficiency without considerations for economic impacts at this stage. The simulation results show that the dual-axis tracking array provides the best performance over a year. It receives 33% more solar radiation and generates 36% more electricity than the tilted system. On clear winter days, compared to the tilted system, the dual-axis tracking system produces 32% and 29% more electricity in high albedo and low albedo conditions, respectively. High albedo due to surroundings snow coverage has been found to cause an increase of 3.1%, 5.8%, and 7.9% in electricity production of the tilted, single-axis tracking, and dual-axis tracking system respectively, over a winter. The results of this research support the idea that tracking the sun is effective on clear days and could be counterproductive on overcast days. Therefore, in high albedo conditions, it is recommended to track the sun and stay fixed once the sky becomes overcast. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.