Impacts of Dust on PV systems Performance in Oman

The Sultanate of Oman is relying on natural gas for electricity generation. It is about 97% of the electricity are generated by using natural gas. According to Oman Power and Water Procurement Co (OPWP), The Peak demand in the MIS has increased from 3,425 MW in 2009 to 5,565 MW in 2015 at an average annual growth rate of about 8.4%, for MIS (with an increase of 9% in 2015 compared to 2014). DPS also increased at an average annual growth rate of 8.9% (with an increase of 13% in 2015 compared to 2014). The peak demand is expected to grow at a rate 8 to 10% per year, from 5122 MW in 2014 to 9530 MW in 2021. The Annual Energy consumption is expected to grow from about 25 TWh in 2014 to 47 TWh in 2021. This might cause shortages in the electricity generation in the future. Renewable energy resources can play a role in fulfilling energy requirements in Oman. The Authority of Electricity Regulation (AER) in Oman studied the potential of renewable energy in Oman in 2008 and they indicated that there is a significant potential of using solar and wind in Oman. Nowadays, the interest in using renewable energy increasing. Globally, power generation from solar energy using Photovoltaic (PV) has increased in the last decades due to many advantages such as providing clean energy and operating with less operation and maintenance costs. The daily solar radiation ranging from 5,500-6,000 Wh/m2 a day in July to 2,500-3,000 Wh/m2 a day in January. This high level of solar energy density makes Oman is among the highest in the world. The geographical location, the density of solar radiation, the temperature, and the installation design are the main important factors that determine solar system performance. However, there are other factors, which might affect the performance of the PV modules, such as the dust. The deposition of the dust on PV modules degrades the efficiency by reducing the transmittance of the PV glazing. Soil particles and wind-blown sands are the primary sources of the dust in the air. These particles have a diameter larger than 2 micrometer. Moreover, the dried droplets of seawater in the atmosphere and Photochemical reactions of gaseous pollutants form smaller particles. Their diameter is smaller than 2 micrometer. The weight and the shape of the dust particles in the atmosphere can negatively affect the PV performance. The climate of the Sultanate of Oman can be described as subtropical dry, hot desert climate with low annual rainfall, very high temperatures in summer and a big difference between maximum and minimum temperatures, especially in the inland areas. Thus, this weather condition affects the efficiency of the PV system. The aim of this research to investigate the impacts of the dust on the PV system in Oman. The research will cover the energy losses analysis due to the deposition of the dust particles in the PV modules and it will tackle different geographical places in the main interconnected system of Oman. In addition, it will propose methods to clean the PV modules to improve their performance.