Abstract
This paper presents a comprehensive review regarding the published work related to the effect of dust on the performance of photovoltaic panels in the Middle East and North Africa region as well as the Far East region. The review thoroughly discusses the problem of dust accumulation on the surface of photovoltaic panels and the severity of the problem. Moreover, a survey of the most advanced cleaning techniques is presented, and their applicability is evaluated. There are plenty of techniques that have been used to remove the dust accumulated on the surface of PV panels, and these include manual and self-cleaning methods. However, it is concluded from the presented review that there is a strong need for developing new cleaning methods especially for the Middle East and North Africa region, which do not consume water and have low capital and operational costs with less human intervention, especially for hot, arid, and dusty regions.
Highlights
Renewable energy versus nonrenewable energyNowadays, the world energy consumption is soaring, and it is projected to increase further in the upcoming decades
Deciding the optimum cleaning technique for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Far East regions will depend on several aspects
Many researchers proposed the frequency of cleaning of Photovoltaic panel (PV) modules, based on their geographical location, energy wasted due to soiling, PV integration scheme, scale of the PV power plant, and cost associated with cleaning which is completely different in the two countries
Summary
The world energy consumption is soaring, and it is projected to increase further in the upcoming decades. Nonrenewable energy sources such as fossil fuels produce about 80% of the world’s energy, leading to the rapid depletion of the natural resources, and the pace of extraction is only set to increase, which may lead to an inevitable energy crisis. Environmental concerns are rising, as the extraction and burning of fossil fuels emanates greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, leading to global warming and its disastrous unpredictable effects [1]. Overexploitation of Shenouda et al Journal of Engineering and Applied Science (2022) 69:8 these fuels is leading to the exhaustion of these resources. The current energy system cannot be maintained for more than two generations [2]
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