Anti-Soiling Coatings on

Solar Panels

Farah Saba Marilyn Bou Mohamed Bakri Mohamed Elrayeh Siddhant Rao
Jaoude
1
 Problem Statement

The negative impact of dust accumulation

on solar power generation in Qatar.
Qatar’s Power Grid

[1] [2]
decrease in
performance when Solar: 0.20%
panels are uncleaned Oil: 29.59%
for 30 days Gas: 70.10%

[1] Nezamisavojbolaghi et al. (2023); [2] Ritchie, Roser, and Rosado (2022) 2
 Solution Requirements
Environmental Sustainability
Resources must be eco-friendly and available in Qatar

Cost
Generate power without significant investment

Feasibility
Minimal changes to solar panels/infrastructure

Power Efficiency
Generate electricity to be competitive to nonrenewables
3
 Solutions Considered
1) Active Cleaning using Water

Environmentally Sustainable

Cost

Feasibility

Power Efficiency

Source: Pickerel (2020)

4
 Solutions Considered
2) Adjusting Panel Tilt

Environmentally Sustainable

Cost

Feasibility

Power Efficiency

Source: “Tilt Angle of Solar Panels and Its Effect on

Efficiency” (2021) 5
Anti-Soiling Coatings

Source: Saied (2019) 6

 Design Overview [3]
Hydrophobic Coatings

● Hydrophobic coatings repel water causing it

to build up on the surface.

● Kinetic energy removes the dust particles.

● Suitable for desert climates.

Source: Somasundaram and Vignesh

Kumaravel (2019)
[3] Hossain, Ali, Benito, Figgis, and Aïssa (2022) 7
 Design Overview [4]
Hydrophilic Coatings

● Hydrophilic coatings promote water adhesion

causing it to spread.

● Water breaks down contaminants and

eliminates them.

● Suitable for coastal climates.

Source: Somasundaram and Vignesh

Kumaravel (2019)
[4] Hossain, Ali, Benito, Figgis, and Aïssa (2022) 8
 Our Solution
3) Anti-Soiling Coatings

Environmentally Sustainable

Cost

Feasibility

Power Efficiency

Source: Bellini (2023) 9

 Benefits
● Can be applied to existing solar
facilities.[5]
● 41% reduction of dust accumulation.[6]
● 3% increase in power generation per
panel.[7]
● Reduction in maintenance and
operational costs.[8]

Source: “New project to develop anti-soiling coating for solar modules to

increase power output and help the UK achieve its net zero goals” (2021)

[5][7][8] Walz, Hoege, Duensing, Zeltner, and Anderson (2023); [6] Fares, Buffiere, Figgis, Haik, and Isaifan (2021)
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Questions?

References
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