Comparative Experimental Study on Monofacial and Bifacial Photovoltaic Noise Barriers

Solar energy utilization in the transportation sector is important for reducing fossil fuel consumption and achieving the grant goal of carbon neutrality. The photovoltaic noise barriers (PVNB) are recognized as a potential alternative for electric vehicle charging. This study aims to evaluate the power generation capabilities of both monofacial photovoltaic noise barriers (mono-PVNB) and bifacial photovoltaic noise barriers (bi-PVNB) when applied along roads with different directions and shading conditions. Results show that the daily yields of bi-PVNB facing west, southwest, south, and southeast are 754, 819, 1101, and 894 Wh, respectively. In contrast, the daily yields of mono-PVNB are 459, 711, 968, and 764 Wh. The bifacial gains are, respectively, 64, 15, 14, and 17%. The influence of partial shading on PV power generation is tested, and sharp decrease is observed when horizontal shading reaches 20% and vertical shading reaches 40%. In summary, the bi-PVNB shows satisfactory power generation ability with different orientation and shading conditions. Under Shenzhen climate, the annual power generation of bi-PVNB along east–west, north–south, southeast–northwest, and southwest–northeast direction roads are predicted to be 304, 325, 342, and 335 MWh per kilometer.