Soiling on Solar Farms: When Should We Clean the Panels?

Abstract:

Researchers have placed significant efforts towards improving solar cell efficiencies, module performance, and optimizing the overall solar farm designs. At the end, the goal is not to maximize the output, but to lower the cost of produced electricity. Another way of improving the economics is through advancement in maintenance and reliability. This talk will discuss one of these factors, namely soiling. Dust accumulation (soiling) will degrade the solar panel output—but cleaning also requires money and will lower our net revenue. The goal should be to optimize the cleaning interval to maximize revenue. We will see how numerical and analytical model can predict cleaning cycles, losses, and revenues to help investors and solar farm operators to get insights on the best possible scenario after optimal cleaning. We will also see how experiment assisted numerical models can help establish the underlying physics and develop better predictions. As it turns out, for most locations across the globe, we will have 2-5% loss in revenue due to soiling even after optimized cleaning intervals.