Effects of soiling on photovoltaic (PV) modules in the Atacama Desert
Effects of soiling on photovoltaic (PV) modules in the Atacama Desert R. R. Cordero, A. Damiani, D. Laroze, S. MacDonell, J. Jorquera, E. Sepúlveda, S. Feron, P. Llanillo, F. Labbe, J. Carrasco, J. Ferrer & G. Torres Published: 17 September 2018 Abstract Soiling by dry deposition affects the power output of photovoltaic (PV) modules, especially under dry and arid conditions that favor natural atmospheric aerosols (wind-blown dust). In this paper, we report on measurements of the soiling effect on the energy yield of grid-connected crystalline silicon PV modules deployed in five cities across a north-south transect of approximately 1300 km in the Atacama Desert ranging from latitude 18°S to latitude 30°S. Energy losses were assessed by comparing side-by-side outputs of four co-planar PV modules. Two of the PV modules of the array were kept clean as a control, while we allowed the other two to naturally accumulate soiling for 12 months (from January 2017 to January 2018). We found t