Review of Mono- and Bifacial Photovoltaic Technologies: A Comparative Study

This article reviews the recent works on bifacial and monofacial photovoltaic (PV) technologies. Furthermore, the effectiveness of bifacial PV technologies over that of monofacial technologies is examined. Unlike monofacial PVs, bifacial PVs have light sensitivity on both the front as well as the rear surface and, therefore, have higher PV yield compared to monofacial PVs. However, because of higher energy output, thermal and electrical behavior are critical in bifacial PV, which needs to be optimized for bifacial PV cells to maintain the optimum cell efficiency. Studies show that bifacial thin-film Si - heterojunction PV cells have the maximum laboratory efficiency. Surface area, the fraction of light reflected, geographical location, economy, and efficiency are key contributing factors that govern the selection of bifacial PV systems. The dual use of land gives an edge to bifacial PV systems over monofacials. The dual use of land cases, such as agri-PVs with bifacial, vertical bifacial, and floating-PVs with bifacial, are unique systems where monofacial PV modules are less effective.