Wayne Hicks, NREL04.02.21
The layer of dust and pollen that settles on the windshield of your car is easily removed with a turn of the lever that activates wipers and water. Removing that layer from a solar panel—especially one inconveniently located from any source of moisture—requires considerably more work.
The accumulation of dust, soot, or other particulates causes a drop in the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels, which translates to a decline in the amount of power produced and lost income for their operators. But cleaning these solar panels carries a cost as well.
Ongoing research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) into the problem of PV “soiling” continues to work toward possible solutions, including patented technology to address the problem and providing a map of where soiling poses the biggest issues.
Soiling a Problem from the Start
Since solar power first became widely accepted decades ago, scientists have toiled to im
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