Abstract
In recent years, photovoltaic (PV) modules are widely used in many applications around the world. However, this renewable energy is plagued by dust, airborne particles, humidity, and high ambient temperatures. This paper studies the effect of dust soiling on silicon-based photovoltaic panel performance in a mini-solar power plant located in Dakar (Senegal, 14°42'N latitude, 17°28'W longitude). Results of the current-voltage (I - V) characteristics of photovoltaic panels tested under real conditions. We modeled a silicon-based PV cell in a dusty environment as a stack of thin layers of dust, glass and silicon. The silicon layer is modeled as a P-N junction. The study performed under standard laboratory conditions with input data of irradiation at 1000 W/m2, cell temperature at 25°C and solar spectrum with Air Mass (AM) at 1.5 for the monocrystalline silicon PV cell (m-Si). The analysis with an ellipsometer of dust samples collected on photovoltaic panels allowed to obtain the refraction indices (real and imaginary) of these particles which will complete the input parameters of the model. Results show that for a photon flux arriving on dust layer of 70 μm (corresponding to dust deposit of 3.3 g/m2) deposited on silicon-based PV cells, short circuit current decreases from 54 mA (for a clean cell) to 26 mA. Also, conversion efficiency decreases by 50% compared to clean cell and the cell fill factor decreases by 76% - 50% compared to reference PV cell.
Highlights
The rapid growth of photovoltaic technologies in the world is very important and contributed to global electricity generation [1] [2]
This work evaluated the influence of dust deposition on the electrical performance of silicon-based photovoltaic cells by a model
It allowed us to evaluate the losses of electrical characteristics such as production efficiency, power output, short-circuit current and fill factor of monocrystalline silicon-based photovoltaic cells as a function of dust deposited on the surface of these solar modules in Dakar, Senegal
Summary
The rapid growth of photovoltaic technologies in the world is very important and contributed to global electricity generation [1] [2]. [1] [2] Among these different factors, deposition of dust on PV cell surfaces is a crucial element that affects their performances. Deposition of dust on PV cell surfaces is a crucial element that affects their performances After their manufacture, solar panels are installed and exposed in open air for electricity generation. Solar production is affected by several factors such as local environment, weather conditions, PV panel tilt angle, dust accumulated on PV cells, etc. Chanchangi et al [18] used a solar simulator and studied the effect of accumulation of 13 different samples (ashes, bird droppings, carpet dust, cement, dust, etc.) on the performance of PV modules Afterwards, they noted a decrease of about 98% in short circuit current. We study losses of short circuit current, power output, conversion efficiency and fill factor of PV cells as a function of dust deposit on their surfaces
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