Impact of dust accumulation on PV and CSP systems: Experimental analysis and simulation insights in semi-arid climate

IF 6 2区工程技术 Q2 ENERGY & FUELS

Solar Energy Pub Date : 2025-05-16 DOI:10.1016/j.solener.2025.113602

Mohamed Boujoudar , Massaab El Ydrissi , Mounir Abraim , Amine Moulay Taj , Ibtissam Bouarfa , El Ghali Bennouna , Hicham Ghennioui

{"title":"Impact of dust accumulation on PV and CSP systems: Experimental analysis and simulation insights in semi-arid climate","authors":"Mohamed Boujoudar , Massaab El Ydrissi , Mounir Abraim , Amine Moulay Taj , Ibtissam Bouarfa , El Ghali Bennouna , Hicham Ghennioui","doi":"10.1016/j.solener.2025.113602","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dust accumulation “soiling” significantly diminishes the energy output of Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems, especially in arid and semi-arid climates. Despite its impact, soiling losses are often underreported, with regional and seasonal variations frequently overlooked. This study evaluates soiling’s impact on large-scale PV and CSP systems under identical conditions at Green Energy Park (GEP), Morocco. Three PV technologies (Mono-crystalline, Polycrystalline, Cadmium Telluride) and CSP (Fresnel) were examined, with two PV systems per technology—one cleaned every two days and the other left uncleaned. High-precision techniques, including Tracking Cleanliness System (TraCS) and reflectometer systems for CSP and continuous monitoring of maximal power output with an MPP meter card for PV, measured Cleanliness Index over four months. The Results showed varying average daily soiling rates: −0.44%, −0.51%, and −0.47% per day for Mono-crystalline, Cadmium Telluride, and Polycrystalline PV, respectively. The CSP system exhibited −1.99% per day during dry periods, 4 to 5 times greater than PV systems. Using local meteorological data, SAM software simulated 1 MWe PV and CSP plants in a semi-arid climate from 6 June to 6 October 2022. Simulations reveal that energy generation in clean conditions yielded 584 MWh (PV) and 886 MWh (CSP), while soiled conditions reduced output to 552 MWh (PV) and 632 MWh (CSP). Consequently, the electrical production loss due to soiling amounted to 32 MWh for PV and 254 MWh for CSP, indicating that energy reduction is approximately eight times more pronounced for CSP than for PV systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":428,"journal":{"name":"Solar Energy","volume":"296 ","pages":"Article 113602"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Solar Energy","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X25003652","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Dust accumulation “soiling” significantly diminishes the energy output of Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems, especially in arid and semi-arid climates. Despite its impact, soiling losses are often underreported, with regional and seasonal variations frequently overlooked. This study evaluates soiling’s impact on large-scale PV and CSP systems under identical conditions at Green Energy Park (GEP), Morocco. Three PV technologies (Mono-crystalline, Polycrystalline, Cadmium Telluride) and CSP (Fresnel) were examined, with two PV systems per technology—one cleaned every two days and the other left uncleaned. High-precision techniques, including Tracking Cleanliness System (TraCS) and reflectometer systems for CSP and continuous monitoring of maximal power output with an MPP meter card for PV, measured Cleanliness Index over four months. The Results showed varying average daily soiling rates: −0.44%, −0.51%, and −0.47% per day for Mono-crystalline, Cadmium Telluride, and Polycrystalline PV, respectively. The CSP system exhibited −1.99% per day during dry periods, 4 to 5 times greater than PV systems. Using local meteorological data, SAM software simulated 1 MWe PV and CSP plants in a semi-arid climate from 6 June to 6 October 2022. Simulations reveal that energy generation in clean conditions yielded 584 MWh (PV) and 886 MWh (CSP), while soiled conditions reduced output to 552 MWh (PV) and 632 MWh (CSP). Consequently, the electrical production loss due to soiling amounted to 32 MWh for PV and 254 MWh for CSP, indicating that energy reduction is approximately eight times more pronounced for CSP than for PV systems.

查看原文本刊更多论文

半干旱气候下粉尘积累对PV和CSP系统的影响：实验分析和模拟

灰尘积聚“污染”大大减少了光伏（PV）和聚光太阳能发电（CSP）系统的能量输出，特别是在干旱和半干旱气候下。尽管有影响，但土壤污染损失往往被低估，区域和季节变化往往被忽视。本研究评估了摩洛哥绿色能源公园（GEP）在相同条件下污染对大型光伏和CSP系统的影响。测试了三种光伏技术（单晶、多晶、碲化镉）和CSP（菲涅耳），每种技术有两个光伏系统，一个每两天清洗一次，另一个不清洗。高精度技术，包括跟踪清洁度系统（TraCS）和CSP的反射计系统，以及PV的MPP仪表卡对最大功率输出的连续监测，在四个月内测量了清洁度指数。结果表明，单晶、碲化镉和多晶光伏的平均日污染率分别为- 0.44%、- 0.51%和- 0.47%。CSP系统在干旱期的日发电量为- 1.99%，是PV系统的4 ~ 5倍。利用当地气象数据，SAM软件模拟了2022年6月6日至10月6日半干旱气候下的1mwe光伏和CSP电站。模拟表明，清洁条件下的发电量为584兆瓦时（PV）和886兆瓦时（CSP），而污染条件下的发电量为552兆瓦时（PV）和632兆瓦时（CSP）。因此，由于污染造成的电力生产损失，光伏系统为32兆瓦时，CSP系统为254兆瓦时，这表明CSP系统的能源减少大约是光伏系统的8倍。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Solar Energy 工程技术-能源与燃料

CiteScore

13.90

自引率

9.00%

发文量

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Solar Energy welcomes manuscripts presenting information not previously published in journals on any aspect of solar energy research, development, application, measurement or policy. The term "solar energy" in this context includes the indirect uses such as wind energy and biomass