Mike Bergin, Duke University professor, led
the study that nearly half of the reduction came from dust and
particles which were found on the surface of solar panels and formed a physical
barrier to the light entry. The reduction came from ambient haze from air
pollution, which is a condition better known as solar dimming. Bergin said that
the study revealed that improving air quality can lead to a big improvement in
solar energy production. He added that cleaning panels would not be enough to
increase the power generation.
Dust can affect the solar panel output significantly, and this was also reiterated in a
2016 study in Baghdad, which found around 18.74% decline in efficiency of solar
modules which were left uncleaned for around a month.
Losses from air pollution have received less
attention. In a 2013 study, researchers explored the power output of around ten
PV systems in Singapore during a haze episode. The study reported that the
system output plummeted due to lower air quality by around 25% over a
10-week-period.
According to Andre Nobre, lead author and head of
operations at the Cleantech Solar in Singapore, the production on a particular
day reduced to a staggering 50%. He observed that for a city like Karachi,
there would be an added effect of soiling on the panels as the city is much
drier and dirtier.
The Bergin study is one of the first which measures
the combined impact of ambient particles and the deposited matter. Bergin and
his colleagues have analyzed dust on the solar panels and have tracked energy production
pre-and-post cleaning. The study found that power generation increased by
around 50% after each cleaning.
Nobre said that air pollution was a factor in solar
power plant business decisions, for those companies who have solar project
across Asia. He added that developers need to evaluate the field when signing
power purchase agreements with clients who had facilities in highly polluted
zones.
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