Comparative Analysis of Bifacial and Monofacial Floating Solar Power Plants: Performance Evaluation and Economic Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of a bi-facial floating solar photovoltaic plant (FSPV_B) and evaluate its technological and economic performance in comparison to an established simulated mono-facial floating solar power plant (FSPV_M). This study evaluates the practicality of floating solar photovoltaic projects in Water Works, Chandigarh, by assessing a 2 MW grid-connected system with a bi-facial PV configuration. The study involves simulating the outcomes of both FSPV_B and FSPV_M plants to identify the most efficient design to achieve maximum power output. The performance parameters, i.e. performance ratio, energy production, levelized cost of energy, and payback period of the floating solar PV plant are evaluated using the PVsyst software. The findings demonstrate that the FSPV_B plant can produce 2887 MWh of energy per year, with a superior performance ratio of 92.90%. Furthermore, the economic analysis indicates that the FSPV_B plant had a shorter payback period (PBP) of 8.3 years compared to the FSPV_M plant with a PBP of 12.7 years. Additionally, the FSPV_B plant has a lower LCOE than the FSPV_M plant. Hence, the study suggests that the proposed bi-facial floating solar power plant would be better, technologically, economically, and environmentally.