Dust and soiling issues and impacts relating to solar energy systems: Literature review update for 2012–2015

Costa, Suellen Caroline Silva; Diniz, Antônia Sônia Alves Cardoso; Kazmerski, Lawrence L.

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.04.059

Cited by 225 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 150 publications

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“…However, although the coating materials are effective as applied, their durability and lifetime still require future validation [6,20]. Similarly, the application of electrodynamic screens has also shown high efficiency in terms of cleaning, but the screens degrade after a period of use and were found to be less effective when the modules were wet [6,24].In summary, dust deposits can cause significant performance reductions in certain locations and while a number of approaches to cleaning and prevention have been subjected to previous research, there remains a gap for solutions which are both low-maintenance and robust while minimising use of water and energy. This research addresses such issues and delivers a study to understand how modules in an array can be cleaned through sequences of interventions encompassing water jets, air jets, mechanical vibrations, and combinations of these.…”

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Dust Removal from Solar PV Modules by Automated Cleaning Systems

et al. 2019

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Dust accumulation on solar photovoltaic (PV) modules reduces light transmission from the outer surfaces to the solar cells reducing photon absorption and thus contributing to performance reduction of PV systems. In regions such as the Middle East where dust is prevalent and rainfall is scarce, remedial measures are needed to reduce such impacts. Currently, various techniques are being employed to address such sand soiling ranging from mechanical (brushing) to active and passive electrical interventions. This research focuses on mechanical approaches encompassing module vibration, air and water jets, and combinations of these. A reconfigurable pilot-scale testbed of 8 kWp PV plant was installed on a carport shading system within the campus of King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The functional PV carport was configured to allow water recovery and re-use within the testbed. Here, we discuss the overall cleaning design philosophy and approach, systems design, and how multiple cleaning configurations can be realised within the overall PV carport. Results indicate that in this location, sand soiling has a significant effect on performance of PV modules on a timescale of days. In addition, water jets optimised for high volume and low pressure were effective at reducing sand soiling with array power output increasing by over 27%, whilst air jets and module vibration were less effective in reducing soiling to an acceptable level. Overall, the testbed has provided a new approach to testing a combination of cleaning solutions in the field coupled with used water recovery. The proposed approach is important, as currently, there are a large number of solar PV projects being built in Saudi Arabia with more being planned for the future.the modules impacting photon absorption by the solar cells [5,6]. As deposition increases, it results in progressive conversion efficiency losses and hence reduced energy yields from the modules and the overall array [7]. For example, it was shown that in one month the output from an outdoor PV system in Saudi Arabian conditions reduced by over 5% due to dust accumulation [8]. A similar experiment in Abu Dhabi showed a reduction of PV output of around 13% for a similar period [9]. In a review of over eighty recent publications, it was found that the loss in power generation due to dust accumulation on solar PV systems can exceed 40% [10]. Such reduction, which is often quantified by the soiling rate, is found to be strongly affected by four factors: (1) geographic location; (2) physical properties of dust particles, such as size; (3) PV module surface roughness; and (4) weather conditions [11]. Other studies showed that there is a clear difference of particle sizes from sand collected from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which leads to a different level of soiling rate [12]. Similar observations were made in a study comparing sand samples showing significant difference of particle size from Doha and Namibia [5].Furthermore, weather conditions such as rainfall frequency, humidity, and wi...

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Dust Removal from Solar PV Modules by Automated Cleaning Systems

et al. 2019

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“…The results show that the average reduction of the flat-plate solar heat collector energy is 1% every month. However, the number of published papers dealing with the impact of dust and pollution on the PV systems has grown rapidly in the last decade [9]. The factors influencing the operation and efficiency of PV systems are reviewed in [10].…”

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Impact of dust and temperature on energy conversion process in photovoltaic module

et al. 2019

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Original scientific paper https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI19S4199JThe impact of the photovoltaic module temperature and natural dust deposition on the module front surface on the photovoltaic system performance was investigated. The study was conducted in the city center of Krakow, Poland, characterized by high pollution and low wind speed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the photovoltaic module power output decrease and energy conversion loss as a function of the dust deposition mass and cell operating temperature. The results show a significant decrease in photovoltaic efficiency when the mass deposition or temperature increases. The maximum mass deposition observed for exposure periods of one week on a single module exceeds 480.0 mg and results in an efficiency loss equal to 2.1%. The results that were obtained enable the development of a correlation for the efficiency loss caused by dust deposition which is desired by the system designers.

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“…The highest value of PV voltage reduction of 25% was reported when ash was used. A comprehensive review of power loss due to soiling and the impact of dust on the use of solar energy was introduced by various researchers [10,11,12,13]. In recent years, human activities have caused serious environmental problems, such as the ozone hole, urban smoke and increased atmospheric pollution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the Effect of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Pollution on the Performance of the Mono-crystalline Solar Module

et al. 2017

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This paper presents a study of titanium oxide TiO2 as one of the components of dust pollution affecting the PV performance. This pollutant can be found in various quantities in different locations around the world. The production of energy by different types of photovoltaic systems is very sensitive and depends on various environmental factors. Dust is one of the main contributing factors, yet the type of the dust is often neglected when studying the behaviour of the solar panel. In this experimental work we have studied the performance of the monocrystalline solar module as affected by the density of TiO2. The reduction of the PV module power caused by titanium dioxide under various mass densities was investigated. The results showed that the TiO2 has a significant effect on the PV output power. The dust density varied between 0-125 g.m -2 . The corresponding reduction of the PV output power increased from 0 to 86.7%. This is based on various influencing parameters such as: short circuit current (Isc), maximum current (Im), open circuit voltage (Voc), maximum voltage (Vm), maximum power (Pm) and efficiency (E). Two functions are proposed as a mathematical model in order to explain this behaviour, namely the exponential and Fourier functions. The coefficients of all general models are valid for this type of dust with a density value ranging from 0-125 g.m -2 .

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Dust and soiling issues and impacts relating to solar energy systems: Literature review update for 2012–2015

Cited by 225 publications

References 150 publications

Dust Removal from Solar PV Modules by Automated Cleaning Systems

Dust Removal from Solar PV Modules by Automated Cleaning Systems

Impact of dust and temperature on energy conversion process in photovoltaic module

Investigating the Effect of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Pollution on the Performance of the Mono-crystalline Solar Module

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