Under snow, vertical PV performs better than conventional solar.
A few months ago we told you about the largest vertical bifacial solar plant in the world, built on the roof of the Norwegian football stadium in Oslo, the Ullevaal Stadion.
The project has 1,242 vertical solar units of 200 Wp each, designed to maximize solar exposure. This plant is capable of generating 219,000 kWh of clean energy every year, significantly contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions.
This facility is back in the news, this time with a new record.
When winter arrives, snow poses challenges for solar installations, especially on flat roofs. Snow not only affects energy production, but can also cause damage to the roof membrane and insulation due to the pressure exerted by the mounting systems. Vertical solar panels, such as those installed on the roof of the Norwegian sports facility, have proven to offer a better solution.
The results were presented at the end of a case study conducted by the company that produced the stadium panels.
The annual energy yield of vertical solar panels can be up to 30% higher than conventional solar installations on flat roofs. Vertical solar panels benefit from a greater albedo (sunlight reflected from the snow), a characteristic which leads them to generate 3-4 times more energy in winter than conventional systems mounted on flat roofs. With snow cover of up to 30 cm, they continue to capture sunlight in the part that protrudes from the snow. The part covered by snow obviously produces nothing, but partial snow cover does not greatly affect the production of the uncovered part of the solar panel. Of course, vertical panels completely covered by snow do not produce electricity, as do conventional solar panels.
The company also states that the vertical panels, in snowy conditions, contribute to a faster melting of the surrounding blanket. The orientation of the panels encourages warmer air to mix with the snow surface and capture heat when the sun shines, speeding up the melting of the surrounding snow.
Source: Over Easy Solar
