Greetings readers, and welcome to your weekly solar news update. This week we are looking at bifacial solar panels. In fact, JP Morgan Chase just completed a 2.8 MW bifacial solar panel roof installation at their Columbus, Ohio location. The solar installation will meet 18% of the location’s energy requirements. So are bifacial solar panels worth the investment? Clearly JP Morgan thinks so.
What this means
Let’s back up for a minute, because if you’re like me, you have no idea what a bifacial solar panel is. Bifacial panels are designed to let light in from both sides. The top side of the panel takes direct sunlight, while the bottom absorbs redirected light from a reflective surface. Twice the light, twice the power… right?
Of course it’s not that simple. As with all solar installations there are a variety of factors at play, the most important being the height of the panels from the roof. And while some manufacturers are boasting a 20% increase in production with the right conditions, it is hard to draw concrete conclusions. Commercial Solar Guy believes that more industry experience is needed until we can draw conclusions on the benefits of bifacial panels, but even a small increase in production over several years could prove to be worthwhile. We’ll have to check in with JP Morgan and a few years to get the report. Read the full article here >