Performance analysis of ground-mounted PV plants

During the last decade, the market penetration of photovoltaic (PV) technology has been increased tremendously worldwide. This trend is driven not only by the associated environmental benefits that characterize this technology, but also by the incentive mechanisms developed in various Countries. In the EU context, following the quick development in German and Spanish PV sector, Italy is currently one of the most interesting market. In view of these facts, it is strategic to perform detailed technical and economical analyses to establish energy performances and profitability of the PV plants, depending on their configurations. The purpose of this work is to carry out a comparative analysis for the achievable performance of PV plants using different types of mounting system (fixed and tracking) for various Italian climatic conditions through specific computer simulations. The final outcome is a detailed performance and economical analysis on different mounting system configurations, for the selection of most suitable choice with respect to energy and economical points of views.