TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Martian Dusting Technology Could Improve Terrestrial Solar Panels

Rebecca Kutzer-Rice | Date: 08-31-10 | Comments

After designing self-cleaning solar panels for use in lunar and Mars missions, a team of scientists has brought the technology to Earth. The panels could increase efficiency and decrease costs for large-scale solar installations in deserts.

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Martian Dusting Technology Could Improve Terrestrial Solar Panels
Although recent technology advances are making solar energy less expensive and more efficient, the promising power source still faces many challenges. One of those difficulties is keeping large-scale solar installations clean. Often housed in dry places like deserts, solar panels�which can expand over spaces as big as 50 football fields�are perfect environments for the collection dust, dirt and grime. A team of scientists has proposed the use of self-cleaning solar panels, which could increase efficiency and reduce maintenance expenses for desert solar plants.

"We think our self-cleaning panels used in areas of high dust and particulate pollutant concentrations will highly benefit the systems' solar energy output," study leader Malay K. Mazumder, Ph.D., said in a report at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). "Our technology can be used in both small- and large-scale photovoltaic systems. To our knowledge, this is the only technology for automatic dust cleaning that doesn't require water or mechanical movement.�

Mazumder emphasized that technology must catch up with the solar industry, which is expanding at rapid rates. From 2003 to 2008, the use of solar panels increased by 50 percent. That number is now expected to grow at an annual rate of 25 percent. Social and environmental concerns are prompting this rapid growth of solar power and also of other alternative energy sources.

Although empty deserts are excellent locations for solar installations, they also worsen the problem of dust accumulation (source: U.S. Air Force).

Large-scale solar plants already exist in countries like the United States, Spain, Australia and India. But many of these initiatives are hindered by a lack of space and resources. The researchers highlighted how solar installations are usually built in deserts, where empty space and sun exposure couple to create optimal conditions for collecting energy.

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