Influence of Layout and Other Design Choices on the Performance of Large-Scale Photovoltaic Systems

Abstract

The electrical performance of a photovoltaic system is influenced by the spatial layout of its components. As a result, designers must understand how to identify layouts that maximize power performance and best utilize land area. In response, this paper presents power performance analyses for a range of typical layout strategies, direct current (DC) power block sizes, and other related engineering considerations for large-scale photovoltaic systems. The results of this study suggest layout strategies that produce squarer DC power block footprint areas and/or that minimizing DC wiring lengths maximize the power output of the photovoltaic system. Additionally, these strategies are likely to minimize construction costs and cost-to-performance ratios. Ultimately, this paper is meant to further communicate the influence of layout on system performance and convey related trends to guide layout optimization explorations within large-scale photovoltaic construction projects.