Top Considerations for Bifacial Performance assessment

As the name suggests, bifacial panels are essentially symmetrical solar PV panels, which can harvest energy from both sides. The introduction of PERC cells opened the door for bifacial panels, and now moving beyond its hype cycle, bifacial has become more mainstream and a topic of deep interest. The size of the market has grown substantially from only 97 MW of bifacial solar installations in 2016 to over 5.4 GW in 2019. According to Wood Mackenzie, this trend will only continue on its upward trajectory in the years to come.

When it comes to bifacial, the real challenge lies in its implementation rather than manufacturing since a number of project-specific variables affect the performance and gain of bifacial panels. Generally speaking, the bifacial economics always pencil out. What it all boils down to is finding the sweet spot between the cost adders and getting your design conditions right. This quick read shines light on the most important variables to offer a better understanding of which levers have a higher impact and to what extent.