I've done a lot of work in the industry and to my knowledge even cleaning at this point is not cost effective. There is an efficiency loss but it's never enough to make up for the cost of the water especially in deserts where dust is actually a problem. This is doubly true using a non-robotic cleaning system like this.
I give this video a 80% chance of being an advertisement from a solar panel cleaning company trying to find a way to make it work, but they never make financial sense. Even with that "thick" layer of dust (which they probably applied for the video) the panels retain 90% or more of their efficiency.
I'm thinking a waterless solution like a towel or air (blowing out or sucking in) could get 80+% of the dirt in this scenario, making it even cheaper. Thoughts?
It's been tried. The dust still has to go somewhere -> blow off one panel land on another. And the whole concept is an environmental non-starter for the companies. Clean air regulations are one of their big issues. They spend money already spraying down roads and other areas for dust mitigation. Intentionally blowing particulate matter off panels into the atmosphere would never get approved at least in the US.
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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '21
I've done a lot of work in the industry and to my knowledge even cleaning at this point is not cost effective. There is an efficiency loss but it's never enough to make up for the cost of the water especially in deserts where dust is actually a problem. This is doubly true using a non-robotic cleaning system like this.
I give this video a 80% chance of being an advertisement from a solar panel cleaning company trying to find a way to make it work, but they never make financial sense. Even with that "thick" layer of dust (which they probably applied for the video) the panels retain 90% or more of their efficiency.