Investigação experimental dos efeitos da sujidade no desempenho de plantas fotovoltaicas instaladas no campus do Pici da UFC

Abstract

The objective of this dissertation is to present a study on the soiling effects on two photovoltaic plants installed at the Alternative Energy Laboratory of the Federal University of Ceará. Soiling metrics (soiling ratio and performance ratio) are used to assess photovoltaic performance over a period of 9 months for the FV 1 plant and 13 months for the FV 2 plant. The decrease in the soiling ratio represents a soil increase on the PV modules surface and, consequently, implies the performance ratio decrease. The seasonality analysis of the environmental data is also performed, showing that during dry periods, the highest daily irradiation levels, ambient temperature, and PV modules temperature are reached. In rainy periods, the soiling ratio was not a good metric to evaluate the soiling. In the dry season, as the days go by and there is no rain, the metrics values decrease. Comparing the metrics values during the rainy and drought periods, the greatest reduction observed in the soiling ratio is 17.90% at FV 2 plant, wich indicates a soiling increase in the FV modules reducing the PV performance by 26.90%. Regarding the soiling chemical composition, chemical compounds such as silicon dioxide and iron oxide are found, while the main elements are: silicon (36.67% at FV 1 plant and e 40.23% at FV 2 plant), iron (19.55% at FV 1 plant and e 17.28% at FV 2 plant), calcium (18.27% at FV 1 plant and e 17.18% at FV 2 plant), and aluminum (8.87% at FV 1 plant and e 10.30% at FV 2 plant).