Microbial colonization affects the efficiency of photovoltaic panels in a tropical environment

Shirakawa, Márcia Aiko; Zilles, Roberto; Mocelin, André Ricardo; Gaylarde, Christine C.; Gorbushina, Anna A.; Heidrich, Gabriele; Giudice, Mauro Cintra; Negro, G. Del; John, Vanderley M.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.03.050

Cited by 48 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This coupon was challenging in two regards: both replicates were scratched after dust accumulation; and the soiling was very non-uniform on length scales of several hundred micrometers (For the micrograph image for Tezpur, refer to Supplemental Information.). It exhibited an irregular and mottled pattern of particle clustering, and even some branched features that resemble fungal hyphae previously reported in other PV glass soiling studies [39][40][41] . Table 3.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

Modelling photovoltaic soiling losses through optical characterization

Smestad

Germer

Alrashidi

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The accumulation of soiling on photovoltaic (PV) modules affects PV systems worldwide. Soiling consists of mineral dust, soot particles, aerosols, pollen, fungi and/or other contaminants that deposit on the surface of PV modules. Soiling absorbs, scatters, and reflects a fraction of the incoming sunlight, reducing the intensity that reaches the active part of the solar cell. Here, we report on the comparison of naturally accumulated soiling on coupons of PV glass soiled at seven locations worldwide. The spectral hemispherical transmittance was measured. It was found that natural soiling disproportionately impacts the blue and ultraviolet (UV) portions of the spectrum compared to the visible and infrared (iR). Also, the general shape of the transmittance spectra was similar at all the studied sites and could adequately be described by a modified form of the Ångström turbidity equation. In addition, the distribution of particles sizes was found to follow the IEST-STD-CC 1246E cleanliness standard. The fractional coverage of the glass surface by particles could be determined directly or indirectly and, as expected, has a linear correlation with the transmittance. It thus becomes feasible to estimate the optical consequences of the soiling of pV modules from the particle size distribution and the cleanliness value. Soiling has a negative impact on the economic revenues of PV installations, not only because it reduces the amount of energy converted by the PV modules, but also because it introduces additional operating and maintenance costs and, at the same time, increases the uncertainty on the estimation of PV performance, leading to both higher financial risks and interest rates charged to plant developers. Power reductions greater than 50% have been reported in the literature because of soiling 1,2 ; it has been estimated that an average loss of 4% on the global annual energy yield of PV could cause losses in revenue on the order of 2 × 10 9 US$ annually 3. A careful monitoring of soiling is required to mitigate its effect 4. Soiling losses are generally quantified by using soiling stations. These systems are made of at least two PV devices, one of which is regularly cleaned while the other is left to soil naturally. By comparing the ratio of the electrical outputs of the two devices, it is possible to estimate the impact of soiling on the PV performance 5,6. The International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) metric to monitor and quantify the impact of soiling on PV modules is the soiling ratio, r s , which expresses the ratio of the electrical output of a soiled PV device to the output of the same device under clean conditions 7. Like the transmittance, a higher soiling ratio translates to less soiling deposited on the modules. A value of 1 indicates clean conditions, with no soiling. For a more detailed definition of r s , please refer to the Methodology section. The fractional loss of solar-generated power due to soiling is 1 − r s .

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

Modelling photovoltaic soiling losses through optical characterization

Smestad

Germer

Alrashidi

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…A diversity of physical, geochemical and biological extremes (solar radiation, temperature fluctuations, desiccation and limited nutrient availability) concur on solar panel surfaces. A study performed on subaerial solar panel biofilms in São Paulo revealed that dust, pollen and other debris covering the solar panel surfaces accumulated in time and included abundant fungi and pigmented bacterial genera, and this was associated with a decrease in the photovoltaic power efficiency, especially after 12 and 18 months (loss of 7% and 11% power respectively) (Shirakawa et al ., 2015). This process – the accumulation of dust particles and microorganisms on a surface – is known as soiling, and it affects photovoltaic efficiency especially under dry and arid conditions, such as those in the Atacama Desert, resulting in an annual energy loss of up 39% in regions with infrequent rainfalls (Cordero et al ., 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extremophilic microbial communities on photovoltaic panel surfaces: a two‐year study

Tanner

Molina‐Menor

Latorre‐Pérez³

et al. 2020

Microbial Biotechnology

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Solar panel surfaces can be colonized by microorganisms adapted to desiccation, temperature fluctuations and solar radiation. Although the taxonomic and functional composition of these communities has been studied, the microbial colonization process remains unclear. In the present work, we have monitored this microbial colonization process during 24 months by performing weekly measurements of the photovoltaic efficiency, carrying out 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing, and studying the effect of antimicrobial compounds on the composition of the microbial biocenosis. This is the first time a long-term study of the colonization process of solar panels has been performed, and our results reveal that species richness and biodiversity exhibit seasonal fluctuations and that there is a trend towards an increase or decrease of specialist (solar panel-adapted) and generalist taxa, respectively. On the former, extremophilic bacterial genera Deinococcus, Hymenobacter and Roseomonas and fungal Neocatenulostroma, Symmetrospora and Sporobolomyces tended to dominate the biocenosis; whereas Lactobacillus sp or Stemphyllium exhibited a decreasing trend. This profile was deeply altered by washing the panels with chemical agents (Virkon), but this did not lead to an increase of the solar panels efficiency. Our results show that solar panels are extreme environments that force the selection of a particular microbial community.

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“…Soiling can easily cause more than 1% power loss per day [1][2][3][4] and is a site-specific phenomenon, strongly influenced by local climatic conditions. 1,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The predominant type of contamination could change considerably depending on the location: mineral dust deposits 1 (Figure 1A), bird droppings ( Figure 1B), biofilms of bacteria, algae, lichen, mosses, or fungi [12][13][14] ( Figure 1C), plant debris or pollen 15 (Figure 1D), engine exhausts or industry emissions ( Figure 1E), and agricultural emissions such as feed dusts ( Figure 1F).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Assessment of Soiling Losses and Mitigation Strategies for Solar Power Generation

Ilse

Micheli

Figgis

et al. 2019

Joule

278

123

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Soiling consists of the deposition of contaminants onto photovoltaic (PV) modules or mirrors and tubes of concentrated solar power systems (CSPs). It often results in a drastic reduction of power generation, which potentially renders an installation economically unviable and therefore must be mitigated. On the other hand, the corresponding costs for cleaning can significantly increase the price of energy generated. In this work, the importance of soiling is assessed for the global PV and CSP key markets. Even in optimized cleaning scenarios, soiling reduces the current global solar power production by at least 3%-4%, with at least 3-5 billion V annual revenue losses, which could rise to 4%-7%, and more than 4-7 billion V losses, in 2023. Therefore, taking into account the underlying physics of natural soiling processes and the regional cleaning costs, a techno-economic assessment of current and proposed soiling mitigation strategies such as innovative coating materials is presented. Accordingly, the research and development needs and challenges in addressing soiling are discussed.

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Microbial colonization affects the efficiency of photovoltaic panels in a tropical environment

Cited by 48 publications

References 23 publications

Modelling photovoltaic soiling losses through optical characterization

Modelling photovoltaic soiling losses through optical characterization

Extremophilic microbial communities on photovoltaic panel surfaces: a two‐year study

Techno-Economic Assessment of Soiling Losses and Mitigation Strategies for Solar Power Generation

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