Optimal Cleaning Scheduling for Photovoltaic Systems in the Field Based on Electricity Generation and Dust Deposition Forecasting

Abstract

This article focuses on cleaning scheduling for photovoltaic (PV) systems in the field. A method to design cleaning schedules for PV strings is proposed to optimize the profit of a PV system over an extended period. Previous studies have usually focused solely on the cleaning frequency on experimental systems. Our method designs specific cleaning schedules for PV systems in the field based on the forecasting of environmental conditions, PV power generation, and dust deposition. We propose that the cleaning decision is an infinite scheduling problem. A problem model in the infinite time horizon is developed and a periodic scheduling method based on forecasting is proposed to transform the infinite process to an optimizable problem. The cleaning schedules are amended with time as the forecasting accuracy for future times increases with time. The performance of our proposed method that operates under various conditions is evaluated in a case study and compared with two classical scheduling methods.