Aerosol Properties affecting Solar PV Power Production

As solar radiation penetrates the atmosphere, a significant amount of energy is lost due to its interaction with atmospheric constituents, including absorption and reflection by water vapor and air molecules. Energy attenuation impacts electric power production from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Solar PV systems have become one of the widely used alternatives for electricity generation due to their scalability and promising solar cell conversion efficiency advantages. However, these systems can be significantly affected by environmental factors, including dust accumulation which decreases the amount of energy produced. 

Aerosols are tiny solid and liquid-suspended particles in the atmosphere, excluding clouds and precipitation. These may include dust, sea salts, smoke from wildfires, pollution, and even volcanic ash. Aerosol Optical Thickness (𝜏) is a dimensionless quantitative measurement of solar radiation extinction by scattering and absorption. It exhibits the amount of aerosol in the vertical column of the atmosphere over the observed area. 

Angstrom coefficient (α) is a qualitative measure of aerosol particle size. The angstrom coefficient exhibits an inverse proportionality with the particle size—values of α < 1.0 indicate coarse mode aerosols of radii ≳ 0.5μm, such as dust and sea salt. Conversely, aerosols with α > 1.0 indicate fine-mode aerosols of radii ≲ 0.5 μm and are usually associated with haze, pollution, and biomass burning.

The hotspot analysis of the AOT dataset generally characterizes the regions in Luzon and Mindanao islands as having lesser AOT and Visayas as having more AOT for the whole timeline, as shown in Figure 1. Results show that areas with relatively high estimated dust deposition (0.218 ≤ AOT ≤ 0.230) can be found in Eastern Visayas, Eastern Mindanao, and Western Luzon. 

The hotspot analysis of the AE dataset generally characterizes Luzon and Mindanao as having coarser aerosols and the Visayas as having finer aerosols for the whole timeline, as shown in Figure 2. Fine aerosol particles (0.80 ≤ AE ≤ 0.93) are dominant in Northern Luzon and Palawan. In contrast, coarse aerosol particles (0.68 ≤ AE ≤ 0.70) are dominant in Mindanao. 

Reference:

Bauzon, M.D.A, Sotto, M., Cañete, J., Principe, J., Masa, J.L. 2022. SPATIAL ANALYSIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DUST PARTICLES USING REMOTELY-SENSED DATA AND ITS EFFECTS ON SOLAR PV POWER PRODUCTION: CASE OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

[Published in 43rd ACRS Conference Proceedings].

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