Assessing the Effects of Dust on Solar Panel Performance: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions †

Abstract

Accumulation of dust on PV panels is a big challenge, especially in dry and semi-arid environments like Morocco, where the number of dust particles in the atmosphere diminishes the efficiency of solar panels severely. The review analyzes 30 recent studies, which provide insight into performance degradation by dust, as well as the search for solutions that mitigate this effect. Results show that dust reduced solar panel efficiency by between 10% and 40% based on environmental conditions, including dust density, composition, and length of exposure. Many technological approaches have been provided for the problem, including autonomous cleaning systems and advanced coatings, yet economic and scalability barriers are still in existence. Also, using AI in predictive maintenance provides good opportunities to optimize solar panel cleaning schedules to enhance energy production. This review concludes with the observation that, going forward, more research on long-term solutions and the development of sustainable and cost-effective cleaning technologies is urgently needed in order to better exploit solar energy in dusty environments.