Performance analysis of innovative cleaning and soiling mitigation solutions in the semi-arid climate of Benguerir Morocco

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the hydrophobic coatings and detergent cleaning & antistatic protection for photovoltaic solar panels in semi-arid weather conditions in Benguerir Morocco. Various coating and cleaning strategies were tested on five photovoltaic (PV) systems with the same PV panels and electrical configurations. The first PV system (uncleaned) was not subject to any coatings or cleaning solutions. The second PV system (Water Cleaned) was periodically cleaned with raw water. The third PV system: solar wash protects (SWP) made use of a cleaning solution. The fourth:D solar defender (DSS) and fifth: industrial glass protect (IGP) PV systems each had a unique combination of the two hydrophobic coatings. The results demonstrated that after 9 months of operation, in the first 3 months (cleaning period) the average efficiency gain of the coated PV panels is around 10% compared to the reference system. Whereas in the non-cleaning period after 6 months of exposure, the efficiency gain is around 5%. After the outdoor exposure period, the cumulative energy gain of the coated systems compared to the water-cleaned reference reaches an average of 3%. It has been found that the SWP used 50% less water to clean the PV panels than the system cleaned without a cleaning solution, which made the panels harder to clean. The SWP is more successful at dust removal during the dry season (August–February) with low rain rates. However, during the rainy season (March–April), IGP outperformed SWP and DSD, with a small difference in PV performance. This study demonstrates the significance of using new cleaning strategies such as anti-soling coatings in dry areas to enhance the performance of photovoltaic systems, which may be useful for investors, researchers, and engineers interested in grid-connected photovoltaic and self-cleaning technology.