Self-sustained surface cleaning of solar energy systems

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The world is progressively transitioning to a distributed and renewable energy generation to overcome manmade climate change. One of the successful technologies is through the use of solar energy whether for direct conversion into electricity (photovoltaic) or thermal energy to enable storing with energy vectors such as water, oil or hydrogen. Regions of the world with high (>2,100 kWh/m2) annual global irradiation (e.g. Africa and Middle East), with great potential for having a boom in clean growth of energy generation and relating economy, are unfortunately arid climate with little rainfall where contaminants can quickly accumulate on surfaces and reduce the performance of deployed system of any scale. In these conditions, manual maintenance with "water and brush" are not a viable option from both economical and environmental viewpoints. Furthermore, building integrated PV applications in these regions, with cleaned glazing, can generate electricity combined with efficient reduction of heat within the building envelope, reducing the load on air conditioning units. The aim of this project is to develop an automated self-sustain, low energy cleaning system to enable continuous operation of solar energy systems. The project will be interdisciplinary in nature and will encompass areas such as environmental testing, CFD modelling, fabricating architectures using transparent earth abundant and low cost materials and designing the delivery of fluid and automation for continuous operation.