Economic Effect of Dust Particles on Photovoltaic Plant Production

The performance of photovoltaic panels decreases depending on the different factors to which they are subjected daily. One of the phenomena that most affects their energy production is dust deposition. This is particularly acute in desert climates, where the level of solar radiation is extreme. In t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energies (Basel) 2020-12, Vol.13 (23), p.6376
Main Authors: Alonso-Montesinos, Joaquín, Martínez, Francisco Rodríguez, Polo, Jesús, Martín-Chivelet, Nuria, Batlles, Francisco Javier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosols
Alternative energy sources
Climate
Contamination
data mining
Dust
Economic impact
Economics
Efficiency
Energy research
Industrial plants
Influence
Photovoltaic cells
photovoltaic plant maintenance
photovoltaic production
Photovoltaics
Plant production
PV soiling
Research facilities
soiling
solar economy
Solar energy
Solar radiation
Useful life
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Summary:The performance of photovoltaic panels decreases depending on the different factors to which they are subjected daily. One of the phenomena that most affects their energy production is dust deposition. This is particularly acute in desert climates, where the level of solar radiation is extreme. In this work, the effect of dust soiling is examined on the electricity generation of an experimental photovoltaic pilot plant, installed at the Solar Energy Research Center (CIESOL) at the University of Almería. An average reduction of 5% of the power of a photovoltaic plant due to dust contamination has been obtained, this data being used to simulate the economic effect in plants of 9 kWp and 1 and 50 MWp. The economic losses have been calculated, and are capable of being higher than 150,000 €/year in industrial plants of 50 MWp. A cleaning strategy has also been presented, which represents a substantial economic outlay over the years of plant operation.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en13236376