A geometric analysis of shading on agrivoltaic system: Bangladesh perspective

Abstract

In this study, a geometric shading analysis of an agrivoltaic system has been done considering land in Bangladesh. The approach has been proposed to simulate the shading length for inclined solar collectors or panels. Results show that the inclined solar panel of 100 cm height from the ground with 100 cm length and 170 cm width provides 286 cm of optimal inter-row distance between two adjacent rows. Also, considering the yearly shading pattern, it is viable to set the inter-panel distance as equal to the panel width. It is also evident that seasonal change has an impact on the shadow length. During the months of summer, the length is less, whereas it is highest in the months of winter. It is found that if the system height varies from 100 cm to 300 cm for January, it has a 208 cm length difference at solar noon time. Which is 89% higher than the length difference found in May. Therefore, 100 cm length could be an optimum value considering the height of the crops, tools, and the farmers who will work there.