Field Testing of Mars™ Soiling Sensor

Abstract

We report on an ongoing field evaluation of the Mars™ optical soiling sensor technology. The Mars™ soiling sensor was developed to provide a compact, low-cost, water-free and maintenance-free method to measure soiling at PV power plants, especially for small utility or commercial-scale sites where more complex solutions can be prohibitive. In this study, a Mars™ soiling sensor was deployed at a test site in California starting in February 2019. The site also includes a reference soiling measurement system employing a washed/unwashed PV reference cell pair. We review the correlation between the Mars™ and reference cell pair soiling results over a 13-month period.