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Thrace Group has developed a reflective and permeable membrane made of polypropylene resins and covered with a thin white layer that reflects ultraviolet (UV) rays. He claims the membrane increased the energy efficiency of a full-scale pilot installation by 4.5%.
The Greek company Thrace Group has developed a material that supposedly increases the albedo of the surface under a photovoltaic power plant and the energy yield of bifacial photovoltaic projects by at least 5%.
The packaging solutions manufacturer claims that the gain is minimal for plant configurations with modules mounted on fixed driven piles, with a 0.8 meter spacing between module rows and a 20 degree incline. It also claims bifacial gains of up to 40%, which can vary depending on the configuration of the solar plant.
The Helios Reflect System (HRS) “combines a weed suppression layer to control herbaceous flora and preserve the advantages of using bifacial modules with an albedo enhancement layer that maximizes solar irradiation received by the rear face of the modules. photovoltaics”, explained to pv magazine George Papagiannis, director of sales and marketing of the division of plastics of Thrace Group.
The top layer is made of polypropylene resins, giving it fire retardant properties, while the permeable membrane preserves the biodiversity and moisture content of the soil, allowing the land to be fully restored once removed. The material is durable, reusable and recyclable at the end of its useful life: the top layer lasts more than five years and the bottom layer about 10, according to Papagiannis.
Thrace Group installed the solution in two 1 MW bifacial PV plants in Xanthi, northern Greece, and compared the measurements with a 1 MW control installation in the same area for one year.
HRS installations showed a 69% increase in albedo reflectance and an increase in bifacial gain from 12% to 17%. The electricity production attributed to the back face of the bifacial modules increased by at least 42%, which translated into an increase in total energy yield of at least 4.5%, according to Thrace Group.
“It is up to the stakeholders of a PV project to determine which plant characteristics need to be optimized so that the AC capacity does not limit the potential of the project to maximize the benefits of albedo enhancement,” says Papagiannis.
Thrace Group estimates that about 2,000 square meters of HRS can be installed per working day with a crew of at least three workers. The installation cost of the product is €0.014 ($0.015)/W, including materials, labor and accessories. The company presents the HRS solution at the Intersolar Europe fair in Munich (Germany). |
