Rethinking PV generation capacities

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are key to energy sector decarbonization. However, the popular southward orientation poses challenges for low-voltage grids, leading to midday overproduction and stability issues due to increasing PV penetration. This study investigates alternative PV orientation strategies to mitigate midday peak generation. Using metadata from Germany’s Marktstammdatenregister and simulated yield data retrieved via the Global Solar Atlas API, the expected hourly production profiles of reference PV systems with various azimuth and tilt angles are analyzed. The GSA-based estimates are validated against four years of high- resolution empirical PV generation data from Utrecht, The Netherlands. The comparison reveals systematic deviations consistent with eastward-oriented roof alignments and confirms the robustness of GSA estimations for comparative analyses. To revalidate the approach, we provide the underlying analysis framework as an open-source solution.