Featured in And the winner is… – 01-2023

Rethinking soiling

The two dominant methods used in the industry to estimate soiling levels on solar projects go some way in mitigating losses, but there is plenty of scope for more accurate observation, as NRG Systems’ Alexandra Arntsen reports.

By

pv magazine

10 Jan 2023

Incident solar irradiance. | Image: pv magazine/NRG Systems

Soiling loss – the reduction in irradiance absorbed by a solar module due to the accumulation of particulate matter on its surface – is an important variable to characterize and monitor at utility scale PV plants. Surface contamination disrupts the optical processes dictating the fate of photons, meaning more solar energy is directed away from …

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