2020/09/10 by Marwan Abdallah, Ahmad Khaiyat, A. Basaheeh +6
Computer Science · Energy · Engineering · #Atmospheric sciences #Cost of electricity by source #Electrical engineering #Electricity generation #Engineering #Environmental engineering #Environmental science #Geology #Humidity #Meteorology #Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques #Photovoltaic system #Photovoltaics #Physics #Power (physics) #Renewable energy #Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics #Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems
paper · doi:10.1115/1.4048406
openalex publication_date 2020/09/10 · crossref created 2020/09/10 · openalex created_date 2020/09/21 · crossref issued 2020/10/05 · crossref published 2020/10/05 · crossref published-online 2020/10/05 · crossref deposited 2020/10/05 · crossref published-print 2021/06/01 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract Power generation from renewable energy sources, in particular solar photovoltaics (PV), has become extremely attractive thanks to its very low levelized cost of electricity (LCoE). In desert-like environments, the energy yield is drastically reduced due to dust accumulation. While effective and affordable cleaning strategies can be implemented in large, MW-size PV power plants, soiling remains an economic and logistic challenge. In this article, we analyze the soiling loss rates of PV modules for different tilt angles measured during a period of 15 months in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. We observe a strong correlation between weather parameters like humidity and wind speed and the mechanism of dust accumulation. Our measurements show that, for specific weather conditions, soiled modules undergo a partial cleaning process. As a consequence, and for the first time, the soiling loss rates are shown to have a clear dependence on the current soiling state of the modules, with clean modules soiling twice as fast as soiled ones. This dependency is a key for predicting the correct cleaning frequency of a PV power plant. Finally, the results obtained for vertically mounted modules (90 deg), where dust accumulation is negligible, point to a favorable case for the use of bifacial PV modules.