> I calculated I would need about 70 to 80 kWp (optimized for winter sun angle, e.g. pretty steep modules at 60° or 70° that relatively produce less in summer, but more in winter).
I know there are sun-following installations but those need expensive mechanics and control systems. Aren't there middle-ground solutions that can be manually adjusted twice a year?
70-80 degree tilt will produce a lot more at latitude 45+ from Nov. 1st to end of February, but at the expense of much less production kWh per month during the rest of the year.
In an off grid totally battery reliant pv system such as for some telecom applications you design the PV for December, worst month of the year for kWh production. If it will "survive" December and provide enough for the load to run 24x7 then it'll be fine for the rest of the year. At high latitudes this cha mean a 75-80 degree tilt facing south.
It depends on whether the price you're getting for that power is sufficiently different between winter and summer; because if your contract has a fixed price per kWh then optimizing for winter (which gets you a bit more power in winter, but a lot less power in summer - because in summer the "angle multiplier" gets applied to much more sunlight) is a bad decision.
I know there are sun-following installations but those need expensive mechanics and control systems. Aren't there middle-ground solutions that can be manually adjusted twice a year?