PV Inter-Row Spacing and Ground-Coverage Ratio
The row layout for a ground mount, carport, or ballasted flat roof: the row pitch is the panel's horizontal footprint plus the shadow its top edge throws at the minimum winter-design sun angle, and the ground-coverage ratio (collector length over pitch) drives both the land area and the inter-row shading. Pack the rows tight for more kilowatts on the lot, or spread them for clean panels - a shallow tilt throws a far shorter shadow and packs nearly 50 percent more array on the same field. The profile angle is the winter sun elevation from latitude or solar-times. A layout geometry, not an annual shading-loss model.
Formula and source
rise = L x sin(tilt); base = L x cos(tilt); shadow = rise / tan(profile_angle); pitch = base + shadow; gap = shadow; gcr = L / pitch.
NREL / Sandia PV array row-spacing geometry (pitch = L x cos(tilt) + L x sin(tilt) / tan(profile_angle), GCR = L / pitch), by name; the relations are first-principles trigonometry.
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