Comprehensive Modeling and its Validation for PV Soiling in Solar PV Power Plant and Assessment of Associated Generation Loss

Abstract

In the climate change regime, PV installation is gaining popularity among all other renewable options day by day, as it is a clean form of energy with the ability to generate energy without emitting carbon at lowest cost. But it is observed from the available data that, as compared to the installed capacity of solar PV, the expected yearly generation is quite less and, this is an Indian as well as global scenario. On the contrary, it may be pointed out that, as per World Air Quality Report released by IQAir, a Swiss firm, the pollution level in Indian cities is remarkably high. This has identified PV soiling as the predominant agent in the field conditions responsible for the reduction in generation in SPV power plants. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the effect of dust accumulation on the power output of the PV system. PV soiling is affected by different weather parameters e.g., wind speed and direction, relative humidity, precipitation, PM concentration etc. as well as PV system installation parameters e.g. height of the module, module elevation angle, module cover surface etc. PV soiling can affect the temperature of the module, transmittance of the module glass cover and ultimately the power output. To study the effect of dust accumulation in detail, various indoor and outdoor experimentation have been carried out in literature. Using their results different mathematical models have been developed by researchers to assess the PV soiling. newlineThe review made in this thesis reveals that most of the existing models for soiling loss estimation of a PV plant have relied upon data collected at the field and in the laboratory. Hence, they are not process dependant rather site dependant where the plant is installed. All these models thus require enormous experimental or field data for their development and validation. This feature weakens the global use of these models. Moreover, all the standard PV system design software takes into account ad hoc value of soiling loss that mostly does not reflect