Soiling impact and cleaning techniques for optimizing photovoltaic and concentrated solar power power production: A state-of-the-art review

Abstract

Nowadays, renewable energies are capturing the world's attention, particularly in light of the phenomenon of climate change and carbon dioxide emissions, which have caused major environmental damage. As a result, many investors have recently focused on developing investments in renewable energy projects worldwide, specifically photovoltaic and concentrated solar power plant projects. These solar technologies are considered among the most profitable solutions for generating power from a natural, free, and unlimited energy source. This review paper discusses one of the most significant issues affecting the performance of these solar systems, which is known as soiling. It has been supported by several studies in various nations with different climatic conditions, which offered accurate empirical data on the degradation rate of photovoltaic and concentrated solar power systems’ production due to the soiling effect. Furthermore, it provides various mitigating soiling ways, including manual and autonomous cleaning methods for both solar technologies. Ultimately, it summarizes each cleaning technique's main advantages and drawbacks, specifying its applicability according to the location characteristics and climatic conditions. Additionally, the review results reported in this work are intriguing enough to warrant further development of concentrated solar power and photovoltaic technologies.