soiling monitoring solution & field test results in mena regions

UKC Holdings CorporationDust Detection System

Soiling Monitoring Solution & Field Test Results in MENA Regions

Fred Chen

The 6th PV Performance Modeling and Monitoring Workshop

Freiburg, Germany 24th -25th October 2016

Oct-25-2016


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Outline

Soiling – A major issue for PV power plants in MENA region

Dust Detection System (DDS)

Soiling Field Data in Egypt & UAE

Summary

Oct-25-2016


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An Utility-Scale PV Power Plant in China

MW Solar Farm is often located in very dry and dusty region Energy ($KWh) loss due to soiling can be very significant Cleaning costs (resources) for large area can be expensive When and How often should one clean the solar farm??

Oct-25-2016

UKC Holdings CorporationDust Detection SystemCleaning Methods for Utility-Scale Solar Farms

Manual Cleaning Robot CleaningSemi-Auto Cleaning

low cleaning speed

water resource

labor cost

higher cleaning speed

PV panel scratch?

dedicated operator

high cleaning speed

PV panel scratch ?

eqpt. maintenance

Regardless of Cleaning Methods - Soiling Loss & Cleaning Timing needs to be Determined First!

Oct-25-2016


Introduce UKC Soiling Monitoring Solution

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Dust Detection System (DDS)

Oct-25-2016


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DUST DETECTION SYSTEM (DDS)

DDS in Amman, Jordan

DDS measures the Energy Loss by comparing the output differences of a dusty panel with a clean panel

Real-TimeRevenue Loss Monitoring

* DDS is integrated with weather stations and camera

* PV modules and tilt angle are the same as the ones used in the solar farm

DDS provides an optimized cleaning timing forecast for operators to Maximize the revenue gains for investors

Cleaning Timing Forecast

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Oct-25-2016

UKC Holdings CorporationDust Detection SystemDDS Reference Module Cleaning

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Oct-25-2016

UKC Holdings CorporationDust Detection SystemDDS Pyranometer Dome Cleaning

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Oct-25-2016


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DDS Installed in a Thailand Mega Solar Farm

Dusty Module on DDS

DDS

Cleaning Operation Triggered by DDS

One DDS per One Solar Farm

Oct-25-2016


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► UKC Provides Web Access Data Service/Storage Management

► 24/7 Data and KPI Viewing through PC & Mobile Devices

UKC

DDS WEB SERVICES - Real Time Data Access

► Plug & Play Design

Oct-25-2016


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Existing monitoring SW

PR, kWh

Environment reading

Inverter/ transformer

Grid malfunction

Ideal monitoring SW

PR, kWh

Environment reading

Inverter/ transformer

Grid malfunction

Soiling loss

Cleaning timing forecast

Module degradation

DDS can supplement the existing PV power plant SCADA/DAS monitoring software for a complete O&M solution

DDSAdd-On

Another important topic for O&M

DDS - VALUE PROPOSITION

Oct-25-2016


-0.546%

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Module Degradation Analysis by DDS

Nominal Power% = PR + Temp Loss +Cable Loss

Outdoor Temp coefficient

Nominal Power%

PR

Temp Loss

Cable Loss

=

Nameplate Temp Coeff.

PV Module: c-Si, 310Wp

Month FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG

PR 85.0% 84.1% 84.8% 85.4% 86.0% 85.4% 86.3%

Temp Loss 13.6% 13.6% 12.4% 13.0% 11.6% 13.7% 11.4%

Cable Loss 2.8% 2.7% 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 2.7% 2.7%

Nominal Power% 101.3% 100.5% 100.0% 101.2% 100.4% 101.9% 100.4%

Oct-25-2016


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DDS-Mini for Commercial or Rooftop PV Plants

DDS-Mini is a miniature size of Dust Detection System (DDS), which is capable of:– Measuring the soiling loss

– Monitoring the environmental parameters

DDS-Mini is suitable for Commercial Scale or Rooftop PV systems with capacity size from a few hundred kW to ~1 MW

MPP Isc

Oct-25-2016


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Oct 25-2016

Soiling Loss Field Data in MENA

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Aswan, Egypt (2016~)

Oct-25-2016


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Site Location: Benban, Aswan, Egypt

Since end of 2015, UKC & TopGrid has deployed one unit of DDS-Mini in Aswan, Egypt

Oct-25-2016


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DDS-Mini in Aswan, Egypt

Installed on 20th, Dec, 2015

Oct-25-2016


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Saturation of Soiling Loss

Soiling accumulation rate: 0.3% per day within the first month

However, the total accumulated loss did not grow linearly

Instead, it appears to saturate at a level of 10-11% loss

Oct-25-2016


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Very Cloudy day

The soiling gap was found “Zig-Zag” at around 10~11%

3 Months Soiling Behavior (1~3/2016)

Oct-25-2016


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Effect of Wind on Soiling Behavior

By comparing the wind speed data, we found the dust level decreased right after a windy period (max. 14 m/s)

3/2 Soiling Gap: 11.2%3/3 Soiling Gap: 9.5%

Oct-25-2016


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Soiling Level Correlated with Wind Speed

A day-to-day chart shows the correlation between the wind speed and the soiling gap

– When wind speed increased, soiling gap dropped accordingly

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Soiling Behavior (January – September 2016)

The soiling gap reached 10% in the first month (0.3%/day), then zig-zag at around 10~12% until cleaning on April 27

After manual cleaning, the soiling loss rate appeared to be slowing down (0.15%/day) and saturated at around 8%

The soiling loss rate is not a constant value

Sandstorm on 3/27 did not increase the soiling loss

Manual Cleaning

Sandstorm on 3/27

Oct-25-2016


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Soiling Analysis (Soiling vs Humidity)

The avg. humidity has been decreased since sensor is installed in March

Lower humidity (10%-20%) and strong wind contributed to a slower

soiling rate after manual cleaning

Humidity(%)

Manual cleaning


Oct 25-2016

Soiling Loss Field Data in MENA

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Dubai, UAE (2016 Feb~)

Oct-25-2016


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DDS-Mini Installed in Dubai, UAE

20th Feb, one DDS-Mini is installed in Dubai (Dubai Investment Park), on a factory rooftop with an existing 200kw PV system

Oct-25-2016

UKC Holdings CorporationDust Detection SystemDay-to-Day Soiling Loss

During March - April, raining events washed away the dust on the PV

From June to August, the soiling loss increased from 2% to 56% within 3 months

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Manually

Cleaned

Oct-25-2016

UKC Holdings CorporationDust Detection SystemSoiling Loss vs. Humidity

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R.H.: 70% R.H.: 48%

Various Soiling Rate were observed (not a constant value); it appears to be fairly correlated to high Humidity, except for the plateau region

Oct-25-2016


Dew Formation on DDS-mini Modules (26th/Sep)

Dew formation has been observed in the early morning; it may be the reason for the plateau region

However, dew alone cannot wash away the soiling deposited on the module surface

Oct-25-2016

UKC Holdings CorporationDust Detection SystemDew Formation Photos (26th/Sept/2016)

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06:30 (R.H.86%) 06:45 (R.H.86%) 07:00 (R.H.85%)

07:15 (R.H.85%) 07:30 (R.H.84%) 07:45 (R.H.82%)

08:00 (R.H.80%) 08:15 (R.H.76%) 08:30 (R.H.71%)

Oct-25-2016


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Summary

UKC Holdings Corporation has developed an innovative soiling monitoring solution DUST DETECTION SYSTEM (DDS) for O&M application of Utility-Scale PV Power Plants

Depending on the local environmental conditions (mainly humidity and wind), soiling behaviors in the MENA regions (such as Egypt and UAE) can be quite different

A dedicated soiling monitoring equipment such as Dust Detection System (DDS) is highly recommended for O&M application throughout the lifetime of Utility-Scale PV Power Plants

Oct-25-2016


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Thank You for Your Attentions!

Let DDS Take Care of Your Solar Investment

soiling monitoring solution & field test results in mena regions

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