A STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE OF LOCALITY IN THE VIABILITY OF SOLAR TRACKER SYSTEMS

KAREN  BARBOSA DE MELO; BRUNO  HENRIQUE KIKUMOTO DE PAULA; MICHELLE  KITAYAMA DA SILVA; DANTE  INGA NARVÁEZ; HUGO  SOEIRO MOREIRA; MARCELO  GRADELLA VILLALVA; THAIS  GAMA DE SIQUEIRA

doi:10.20906/CBA2022/234

KAREN BARBOSA DE MELO UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas
BRUNO HENRIQUE KIKUMOTO DE PAULA UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas
MICHELLE KITAYAMA DA SILVA UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas
DANTE INGA NARVÁEZ UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas
HUGO SOEIRO MOREIRA UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas
MARCELO GRADELLA VILLALVA UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas
THAIS GAMA DE SIQUEIRA Universidade Federal de Alfenas

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20906/CBA2022/234

Keywords: Solar trackers, Solar energy, Photovoltaic panels, Viability, Photovoltaic plants

Abstract

Photovoltaic solar energy has been explored as a solution to meet the growing demand for electricity from a clean and renewable source. However, the low energy conversion efficiency of photovoltaic panels is one of the factors that hamper the competitiveness of this energy source compared to the others. Solar trackers are used to improve the per-formance of photovoltaic systems; however, they have a higher installation cost and maintenance. This article presents a review of several types of solar trackers, as well as simulations of a 1 MWp power plant in seven cities of Brazil, to evaluate the influence of locality in the viability of solar trackers systems. The results showed that Bom Jesus da Lapa - BA presents the best performance among the cities tested, both technically and economically. Also, solar-powered plants with solar trackers have better economic viability than fixed-panel power plants in all cities studied.