Theme 2: Horizontal Dual-Axis Solar Tracker.

Horizontal Dual-Axis Solar Tracker is used to mount bi-facial solar panels to maintain the top side of the bi-facial solar panels to track the sun’s movement in both E-W and N-S directions to receive the sun’s ray perpendicular to the top surface of the solar panel resulting in the highest power generation.

Three types of solar power plant (Ground-Mounted) installations exist in the market:

1. Fixed-tilt installation,
2. Single-axis solar tracker installation, and
3. Dual-axis solar tracker installation.

The fundamental principle in solar photovoltaic power generation:

Solar power generation is highest when the sun’s rays fall perpendicular (at a 90° angle) to the top surface of the solar cell. As the angle of incidence deviates from 90° and approaches 0°, the power generation proportionately decreases.

A brief on solar trackers:

Solar trackers are useful to help orient solar panels to track the sun to receive the sun rays perpendicular (at a 90° angle) to the top surface of the solar cell for most of the period in a day and all through the year, to generate maximum solar power.

Since the sun is moving in E-W and N-S directions, there are 2 types of solar trackers available in the market.

1. A single-axis solar tracker to track the sun in E-W directions only and has the potential to generate up to a maximum of 30% additional power than an equivalent fixed-tilt solar plant, and
2. A vertical dual-axis solar tracker to track the sun in E-W and N-S directions and has the potential to generate up to 40% additional power than an equivalent fixed-tilt solar plant, became unviable, due to its clumsy structure and high cost and increased land area requirement.

It is important to use a dual-axis solar tracker to generate the maximum solar power, but in the absence of a viable dual-axis solar tracker, the market is content with a single-axis solar tracker with a marginal additional benefit.

At this stage only, Dr. S. K. Radhakrishnan engaged in developing a innovative dual-axis solar tracker based on a whole new principle, the Horizontal Dual-Axis Solar Tracker. It took almost 9 years to invent a new horizontal dual-axis solar tracker that can generate 100% more power generation than an equivalent fixed-tilt system. This invention is the world’s first Horizontal Dual-Axis Solar Tracker, which can increase solar energy generation by 100%.

This invention offers the following unparalleled benefits.

1. 1. The project cost comes down by 25%
   2. The land area comes down by 25%
   3. The payback period is reduced by 42% 
   4. IRR is increased by 40%
   5. LCoE is reduced by 25%
   6. CUF is increased by 100% and
   7.   Post-repayment revenue is increased by 64% in a 25-year life period