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A new Double-Layer Photovoltaic Installation:
Illustration of the basic Idea and first Performance Tests

R. Carbone(1), C. Borrello(2), F. Gioia(2)

1. Department of Information, Infrastructures and Sustainable Energy (DIIES), University “Mediterranea”, Reggio Calabria, Italy.

2. A.M.P.S. s.r.l., Via del Gelsomino 45/C, 89128, Reggio Calabria, Italy.

2026-06-27

Conventional photovoltaic (PV) installations cause excessive land-use, even when built by using last-generation PV cell (and PV module) technologies. On the basis of an Italian patent (issued in 2025) and an international patent application, this study presents the new idea of a dynamic double-layer PV installation. It consists of two distinct and overlapping PV generation layers, where each layer can be (or not) equipped with independent solar tracking systems. A custom-designed and self-built scaled prototype is introduced and its main characteristics and possible operational configurations, for on-field experimental tests, are described in detail. The data of some first comparative on-field tests are presented and discussed to underline advantages and drawbacks of the proposed “dynamic” double-layer PV installation, referring to conventional “static” single-layer PV installations. Also, the proposed solution can be profitably miniaturized at the single-module level for being fully integrated into a variety of buildings (BIPVs) or greenhouses. The double-layer PV installation idea offers a new approach for optimizing the energy yield per square meter of occupied land area by PV installations, promising an increased land-use efficiency more than +40% with respect to conventional single-layer PV installations.

Key words: Land-use efficiency, PV Solar Tracker, Bifacial PV technology, BIPV, PV greenhouse.

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