Organic Soiling: The Role of Pollen in PV Module Performance Degradation

Abstract

Soiling is a problem for solar energy harvesting technologies, such as in photovoltaic modules technologies. This paper describes not only one complete year of Soiling Ratioindex and rates measured in a rural environment of Southern Europe, but also focuses on the seasonal variation of the type of soiling, mainly spring and summer. The Soiling Ratio index is calculated based on the maximum power output and short circuit current of two photovoltaic (PV) panels, along with Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray of glass samples to provide visual and chemical inspection of the type of soiling. Mass accumulation on glass samples mounted on a “glass tree” was weekly measured with a microbalance and related with the Soiling Ratio metrics. Soiling rates were calculated to infer the degree of soiling for each season and the respective comparison made. Results show a soiling rate of 4.1%/month in April (spring), 1.9%/month in July (summer) and 1.6%/month in September (fall). Rain (the main natural cleaning agent of the photovoltaic modules) as well as aerosol optical depth (proxy for atmospheric particle concentration) were correlated with the Soiling Ratio. In-depth analysis on the type of organic soiling was performed.