Canal Top Solar Energy Harvesting using Reflector

Solar energy is one of the most abundant sources of renewable energy for the future. This solar energy can be extracted by PV system. Many methods for PV installation are carried out, such as roof top PV system, dam top PV system; floating PV, canal top PV system etc. In canal top system, PV panels are placed above the water canal which saves installation area and reduces evaporation loss. The performance of any PV system depends mainly on the light intensity, so by a concentrating PV system power output can be increased. The usage of concentrated PV system can bring down the investment cost per kWh. In this paper canal top PV system with reflectors in the inter array spacing are studied. The expected advantage of such a system is that the evaporation loss can be further reduced and additional cooling system may not be required. To get uniform availability of light and to avoid shading on the panels, tilt angle of the panel, inter array spacing and orientation of the reflectors are calculated optimally. KeywordsPhotovoltaic cells, Concentrating PV (CPV), Photovoltaic, Solar panel cooling, Hydraulic canal, Solar panel temperature