Work out solar farm land requirement instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Module area is capacity divided by efficiency, since 1 kWp at standard test conditions corresponds to 1000 W/m2 of irradiance. Dividing by ground coverage ratio accounts for inter-row spacing needed to limit shading, and a further allowance covers roads, substation and boundary setbacks. Typical density is 0.4-0.6 MWp per hectare.
Module area
Module area (m2) = capacity (kWp) x 1000 / module efficiency
Land
Land = module area / ground coverage ratio x (1 + balance of plant allowance)
Latitude and the acceptable shading loss. Higher latitudes need wider row spacing to avoid winter self-shading, so GCR falls from 45-50% near the equator to 25-35% at high latitudes.
Yes, typically 20-40% more than fixed tilt for the same capacity, because trackers need clearance to rotate without shading each other. The extra yield usually justifies it.