Introduction to Validation

The SolarFarmer simulations are continuously validated against production data from operating PV plants. The validation process consists of several steps:

  1. Cleaning measured data to remove erroneous values, periods of site maintenance, etc.
  2. Setup of the PV plant model in SolarFarmer, matching the actual layout as closely as possible, and using the solar resource data measured at the site as simulation input
  3. Comparison of the modelled and measured AC power output on time series basis

The results presented here are based on production data periods from several PV sites where data are ranging from 0.9 to 2.2 years with a resolution of 60 or 5 minutes.

Papers and Presentations

The validation of SolarFarmer's methodology and accuracy has been the topic of several scientific papers and presentations, which are listed below.

1. "Accurate Performance Predictions of Large PV Systems with Shading using Submodule Mismatch Calculation" by M. A. Mikofski, M. Lynn, J. Byrne, M. Hamer, A. Neubert and J. Newmiller, in 2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC) (A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC, 28th PVSEC & 34th EU PVSEC), 2018, pp. 3635-3639. DOI: 10.1109/PVSC.2018.8547323

2. "SolarFarmer (beta version): Accurate Modelling of Real World PV Systems" by M. A. Mikosfki, in 2018 10th PV Performance Modeling Workshop (PVPMC), Albuquerque, NM (USA), 2018.

3. "SolarFarmer: A PV Tool for an Emerging Market" by C. Hidalgo, in 2018 Intersolar Europe, Munich (Germany), 2018.

4. "Accurate Performance Prediction of Large Scale PV Power Plants with Complex Layouts" by M. A. Mikosfki, in Solar Power International 2018, Anaheim, CA (USA), 2018.

5. "SolarFarmer Bifacial Modeling" by M. A. Mikosfki, in 2019 12th PV Performance Modeling Workshop (PVPMC), Albuquerque, NM (USA), 2019.

6. "Bifacial Performance Modeling in Large Arrays" by M. A. Mikofski, R. Darawali, M. Hamer, A. Neubert and J. Newmiller, in 2019 IEEE 46th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2019, pp. 1282-1287. DOI: 10.1109/PVSC40753.2019.8980572

7. "Bifacial Solar Sensitivity to Project Capacity Size" by A. Neubert, M. Hamer, R. A. Kharait and M. A. Mikofski, in 2020 47th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2020, pp. 0703-0706. DOI: 10.1109/PVSC45281.2020.9300712

8. "Tracker Terrain Losses" by M. A. Mikofski and P. J. Rainey, in 2020 47th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2020, pp. 1859-1862. DOI: 10.1109/PVSC45281.2020.9300381

9. "Validation of the Solarfarmer Software with Operational Data" by A. Neubert, M.A. Mikofski, M. Hamer and P. Rainey, in 37th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC), 2020, pp. 1621-1625. DOI: 10.4229/EUPVSEC20202020-5CV.4.10

10. "The Impact of Tracking Algorithms and the Time Resolution on Energy Yield Modelling of Single Axis Tracker Systems" by A. Neubert, M. Hamer, P. Rainey and M. A. Mikofski, in 38th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC), 2021, pp. 1290-1293. DOI: 10.4229/EUPVSEC20212021-5CV.3.1

11. "Tracker Terrain Loss - Part Two" by M. Leung, M. A. Mikofski, M. Hamer, A. Neubert, A. Parikh, P. Rainey and R. Kharait, in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 127-132, Jan. 2022. DOI: 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2021.3114599

12. "Simulating single-axis tracker systems in complex terrain" by A. Neubert, in The International Conference "Enabling the PV Terawatt Transition" organized by EU COST Action PEARL PV, Enschede, Netherlands, Mar. 2022.

13. "A model for efficient shading evaluation in large-scale PV plants based in hemicube geometry" by A. Neubert, J. Lopez-Lorente, M. Hamer, and T. Mercer, in 2023 16th PV Performance Modeling Workshop (PVPMC), Salt Lake City, UT (USA), 2023

14. "White paper: Addendum to the 2021 solar energy assessment validation for utility scale projects" by M. Mikofski and C. Chan, in DNV Publications, May 2023.

15. "Uncertainty considerations in bifacial photovoltaic systems with high albedo seasonality" by J. Lopez-Lorente, A. Neubert and M. Hamer, in 2023 50th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), San Juan, PR (USA), 2023, pp. 1-7. DOI: 10.1109/PVSC48320.2023.10359862.

16. "Shading in utility-scale photovoltaic plants: A hemicube approach for efficient shading calculations" by A. Neubert, M. Hamer and J. Lopez-Lorente, in Solar RRL, vol. 7, no. 19, pp. 2300473, Oct. 2023. DOI: 10.1002/solr.202300473

17. "Light and Shade: A hemicube approach for efficient shading calculations in utility-scale PV plants" by A. Neubert, M. Hamer and J. Lopez-Lorente, in 40th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC), 2023, pp. 020414-001 - 020414-004. DOI: 10.4229/EUPVSEC2023/4DO.1.2.

18. "Tackling the terrain: Custom tracking algorithms in solar PV plants on complex terrain" by J. Lopez-Lorente, W. Holmgren and J. Alderman in 2024 17th PV Performance Modeling Workshop (PVPMC), Salt Lake City, UT (USA), 2024.

19. "Energy yield modeling of single-axis tracking PV systems on irregular terrain" by J. Lopez-Lorente, A. Neubert, and M. Hamer, in 2024 52th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), Seattle, WA (USA), 2024. DOI: 10.1109/PVSC57443.2024.10749568.

Upcoming Dissemination Events

During 2025, we will continue disseminating the bankability of SolarFarmer as an accurate and reliable tool for PV plant modelling. The SolarFarmer team aims to participate in the following PV industry events: