Influence of Pollen on Solar Photovoltaic Energy: Literature Review and Experimental Testing with Pollen

This work attempts to shed some light on the impact of organic soiling due to pollen on solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation. Apart from introducing several soiling-related pollen features, the previous works reporting soiling by pollen have been reviewed. Local observations from late winter to...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Main Authors: Carlos Sanz Saiz, Jesús Polo Martínez, Nuria Martín Chivelet
Formato: Artigo
Idioma:English
Publicado: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Acceso en liña:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/14/4733
Descripción
Summary:This work attempts to shed some light on the impact of organic soiling due to pollen on solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation. Apart from introducing several soiling-related pollen features, the previous works reporting soiling by pollen have been reviewed. Local observations from late winter to early spring showed that a rooftop PV system experienced both uniform and non-uniform soiling issues, which were mainly caused by pollen from nearby cypress specimens. In addition, this work publishes preliminary results regarding an artificial soiling test performed with pollen. In this test, soda lime float glass coupons were artificially soiled with fresh cypress pollen. A linear relationship was found between the pollen mass density (ρ<sub>A</sub>) and the glass averaged transmittance (<i>T</i><sub>AVE</sub>) for values up to 9.1 g/m<sup>2</sup>. In comparison with other artificial soiling tests performed with different soiling agents, the transmittance loss caused by pollen cypress deposition was relatively high and spectrally selective.
ISSN:2076-3417