Comparative analysis of extreme solar irradiance between a fixed photovoltaic system and a solar tracker in the Peruvian highlands

Solar energy is very important in photovoltaic generation systems, however, in the process of capturing this energy, extreme solar irradiance events can be detrimental to some components of the photovoltaic (PV) system. The objective of this research was to compare the extreme solar irradiance between a fixed PV system and a solar tracker in the Peruvian highlands. The extreme solar irradiance of the fixed PV system and the solar tracker was determined with two calibrated cells, connected to a programmable logic controller (PLC), being monitored and stored in real time. A solar tracker with two degrees of freedom was used. The results show that during the experimental period, the maximum extreme solar irradiance was 1303.54 $W/m^{2}$ in the fixed PV system and 1506.93 $W/m^{2}$ in the solar tracker, an event that occurred on days with partial cloudiness caused by the transitory passage of clouds of less than 10 seconds. Therefore, extreme solar irradiance is a factor that significantly influences the operation of the photovoltaic system, even more so in the solar tracker because it follows the path of the sun throughout the day.