TITLE:
Influence of Dust Deposition on the Electrical Parameters of Silicon-Based Solar Panels Installed in Senegal (Dakar Region)
AUTHORS:
Dialo Diop, Moulaye Diagne, Abel Sambou, Pascal Djicoly Bassene, Serigne Abdoul Aziz Niang, Astou Sarr
KEYWORDS:
Dust Deposition, PV Cell, Fill Factor, Modeling, Ellipsometer
JOURNAL NAME:
Energy and Power Engineering,
Vol.13 No.5,
May
31,
2021
ABSTRACT: In recent years, photovoltaic (PV) modules are widely used in many
applications around the world. However, this renewable energy is plagued by
dust, airborne particles, humidity, and high ambient temperatures. This paper studies the effect of dust
soiling on silicon-based photovoltaic panel performance in a mini-solar power
plant located in Dakar (Senegal, 14°42'N latitude, 17°28'W longitude). Results
of the current-voltage
(I - V) characteristics of photovoltaic panels tested under real conditions. We
modeled a silicon-based PV cell in a dusty environment as a stack of thin
layers of dust, glass and silicon. The silicon layer is modeled as a P-N junction. The study performed under
standard laboratory conditions with input data of irradiation at 1000 W/m2,
cell temperature at 25°C and solar spectrum with Air Mass (AM) at 1.5 for the
monocrystalline silicon PV cell (m-Si). The analysis with an ellipsometer of
dust samples collected on photovoltaic panels allowed to obtain the refraction
indices (real and imaginary) of these particles which will complete the input
parameters of the model. Results show that for a photon flux arriving on dust
layer of 70 μm (corresponding to dust deposit of 3.3 g/m2) deposited
on silicon-based PV cells, short
circuit current decreases from 54 mA (for a clean cell) to 26 mA. Also,
conversion efficiency decreases by 50% compared to clean cell and the cell fill factor decreases by 76%
- 50% compared to reference PV cell.