Comparative analysis of energy yield of different tracking modes of PV systems in semiarid climate conditions: The case of Iran

The study focuses on the performance of three different tracking modes of photovoltaic system, in the semi-arid climatic characteristics of Rafsanjan, Iran. Three single axis sun tracking, performing in three different tracking mode, was built and coupled with PV modules to measure the power generation of the solar PV system. The results showed that both continuous and 3P tracking modes receive roughly similar solar energy, such that in the case of a clear weather with daily-average solar radiation higher than H-ave = 6 kWh/m(2) day, the gain solar energy of these modes is about 30% higher than one in the fixed mode. While this value for the cloudy weather with daily-average solar radiation less than H-ave = 5 kWh/m(2) day, is less than 20% as compared with the fixed mode. It has been found that, if the energy consumption for performing the tracking system is included, the gross gain in electrical energy for 3P tracking mode, is about 23.4% higher than one of the fixed mode, in the case of clear weather. While the increased in the gain electrical energy, does not exceed 14% in the case of cloudy weather. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.