Effect of solar radiation reduction due to aerosol particles on stand-alone PV system performance

Abstract

Solar radiation and its reduction by the atmosphere were analyzed and the effect on the performance of photovoltaic systems was investigated. Shadowband radiation measurements obtained at Évora were used to determine the influence of aerosol load on the performance of a typical stand-alone PV system. Two extreme clear-sky scenarios were considered: i) days with low aerosol content and ii) days with low aerosol content. If the PV system is sized to produce energy throughout the year, the effects of sun annual cycle and cloud cover dominate the design of the PV system. However, for the summer months, the effect of the cloud cover is comparable or smaller to the effect of the aerosol content.