Characterization of Dust on the Surface of Photovoltaic Panels in Low Latitude and High Altitude Plateau Areas

Abstract

Fossil energy consumption and climate crisis have witnessed an allure towards harnessing solar energy. Nevertheless, dust weather leads to the inevitable power output deterioration of the photovoltaic (PV) station. Dust-PV connection studies have been widely concerned in the semi-arid and desert regions at low latitudes and altitudes. However, dust’s properties on PV panels in low latitude and high altitude plateau areas in Sichuan province of China remain relatively in the dark. Here, the chemical and physical characteristics of dust particles on PV installations were analyzed in Ganzi, Si Chuan province. Particle characterization results, PV arrays parameters and local geographical features were imposed in computer simulation to reach reality. The results showed that SiO2 and CaCO3 were the primary phases, but the dust also was made up of Rb, Y, and Sr trace elements infrequently observed in other desert regions. The microcosmic appearance of dust displayed that nano- and micro-particles with pores were disorderly distributed. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) (CFD-DEM) coupling simulation results illustrated that dust accumulation was increased from the back to the front rows of PV panels. It was noted that virtual results were consistent with the actual scene on the distinct edge.