Economics of seasonal photovoltaic soiling and cleaning optimization scenarios

Abstract

The present study analyzes the soiling losses of a 1 MW system installed in the South of Spain. Both the Levelized Cost of Energy and the Net Present Value are used to compare the convenience of different mitigation strategies. It is found that also PV installations located in moderate regions, where the yearly soiling losses are limited to 3%, can suffer of a severe seasonal soiling, with power drops higher than 20%. In these conditions, an optimized cleaning schedule can be considerably beneficial from an economic perspective. For the given site, an optimal cleaning schedule generates a raise in profits up to 3.6% if one yearly cleaning is performed within a ± 31-day window in summer. The convenience of one and multiple cleaning strategies is investigated by considering variable electricity prices and cleaning costs. In addition, the impact of the module efficiency on the cleaning strategy is analyzed. It is found that an optimized cleaning schedule can enhance the benefits of installing high efficiency modules, as it increases the amount of energy recovered through each cleaning and, therefore, the profits.

Photovoltaic Farms—Economic Efficiency of Investments in North-East Poland

“…Despite numerous positive examples of the inclusion of solar farms in the energy mix, the photovoltaic conversion process used in energy production is far from perfect, as the efficiency of such installations is relatively low [29]. At the same time, research is being conducted to seek methods to increase the efficiency of traditional photovoltaic systems using, for example, optimized PV panel orientation [30,31], non-tracking plenary concentrators [32], panel cleaning systems [33], effective solutions to snow accumulation problems (at the material as well as architectural level) [34][35][36], a solution to reduce excessive panel heating [37][38][39], etc.…”

Monitoring photovoltaic soiling: assessment, challenges, and perspectives of current and potential strategies

“…On the other hand, various authors have reported higher soiling rates in winter than in summer in Santiago, Chile (Besson et al, 2017;Cordero et al, 2018) and in Doha, Qatar (Javed et al, 2020), as a result of the specific particle matter concentration pattern. Other examples of seasonal soiling have been reported in the South of Spain (Micheli et al, 2021;Zorrilla-Casanova et al, 2012), where most of the losses typically occur during the long dry summer. A metric, named Soiling Variability Index, was proposed to quantify the seasonality of soiling (Micheli et al, 2017b).…”

“…As of 2019, Andalucía, the region where Jaén is located, is home to about 20% of the Spanish PV power capacity and has seen its capacity grow by more than 120% between December 2018 and July 2020 ( OMIE, 2020 ). However, the long dry and arid summers, the occasional dust storms, and some human activities, such as harvesting or olive tree branches burnings, make the PV installations significantly affected by soiling, with power drops that can be higher than 20% ( Micheli et al., 2021 ; Zorrilla-Casanova et al., 2012 ).…”

“…These can be due to the seasonal variation of environmental factors causing soiling, to periodic human activities (such as harvesting) or to exceptional events, such as dust storms or construction works. Even sites with low average losses can benefit substantially of soiling mitigation, if, for example, cleanings are performed in the highest soiling seasons ( Micheli et al., 2021 ). Several works have highlighted the more pronounced soiling losses occurring during summer in California ( Caron and Littmann, 2013 ; Kimber et al., 2007 ; Mejia et al., 2014 ; Mejia and Kleissl, 2013 ).…”

“…In addition to the variability of soiling, it should be noted that also the variability of electricity price, operational and labor costs, discount rate, and taxes can affect the profitability of soiling mitigation (Al-Housani et al, 2019;Alzubi et al, 2018;Fathi et al, 2017;Jones et al, 2016;Micheli et al, 2020dMicheli et al, , 2021Stridh, 2012). For these reasons, several models have already been presented to optimize the soiling mitigation strategy (i.e.…”