Design and Simulation of a Solar Tracking System for Photovoltaic Modules at the Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant
This study evaluates the performance enhancement potential of three solar tracking strategies implemented on a floating photovoltaic (FPV) installation at the Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant. Simulations were carried out using PVsyst software version 7.3 for four system configurations: fixed-tilt (without tracking, with the island platform azimuth set at 0°), single-axis tracking (panel rotating phi angle varied from -5.3° to 5.3°), dual-axis tracking (tilt angle varied from 5° to 15° and module azimuth angle at -20° and 20°), and island tracking (overall island platform azimuth angle at -30° and 30°). Simulation results were validated for the fixed-tilt configuration by inputting actual meteorological data from the year 2024 into the PVsyst meteo database, resulting in a monthly energy production correlation of 96.98% between simulated and actual data. The results show that the highest energy yield improvement was achieved with the single-axis tracking configuration at 2.4%, followed by dual-axis tracking at 2.2%, and island tracking at 1.4%, relative to the fixed-tilt configuration.