Influence of ground cover ratio on optimum inverter size in CPV plants

In this paper, it is shown that the inverter size that maximizes the energy yield in CPV plants is influenced by self-shading between sun trackers. For this purpose, a detailed CPV power plant model was developed from experimental data obtained in the outdoor characterization of a typical 700x concentration factor Fresnel lens-based CPV module. The simulated results indicate that neglecting the impact of shading can lead to inaccurate values of the optimum inverter capacity from an energetic point of view. However, applying an economic optimization criterion, the inverter sizing ratio seems to be independent on ground cover ratio. In the study, the influence of the inverter efficiency characteristics is also discussed.