SBIR Phase I: Increasing energy yield from dusty solar panels with a new generation of an electrostatic self-cleaning technology

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力在于减少能源生产对环境的影响和提高太阳能发电的可靠性。在所有细分市场中，2019年上半年太阳能发电占所有新增发电量的36%。在美国太阳能市场上，公用事业规模的光伏发电保持着最大的装机份额，但灰尘会影响发电量。例如，由于地表污染造成的平均损失在纽约州约为7%，在亚利桑那州为15-25%，在中东和北非地区的沙尘暴期间可高达100%。这个项目将开发一种新的清洁太阳能电池板的方法。它将显著降低平准化电力成本（LCOE），防止饮用水浪费，并节省由于太阳能电池板清洁而造成的收入损失。该SBIR一期项目提出了一种新的静电方法，可以在各种污染条件下将太阳能电池板恢复到98%的功率容量。这项技术将为清洁灰尘提供一种新的、有效的方法，太阳能电池板本身的功耗可以忽略不计，而不需要外部电源。该项目集成了激光辅助制造、建模、薄膜太阳能电池板制造、光伏电池板测试和大规模安装方面的先进技术。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is in reducing environmental impact of energy generation and improving the reliability of solar energy generation. Across all market segments, solar power accounted for 36% of all new electricity-generating capacity additions in the first half of 2019. Utility-scale photovoltaic power maintained the largest share of installed capacity in the U.S. solar market but dust can affect power output. For example, the average losses due to surface contamination are about 7% in New York State, 15-25% in Arizona, and can go up to 100% during the dust storms in the Middle East and North Africa region. This project will develop a new cleaning method for solar panels. It will significantly reduce Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), prevent potable water wastage, and save lost revenue due to solar panel cleaning. This SBIR Phase I project proposes a new electrostatic method to restore the solar panel to 98% of its power capacity for a variety of soiling conditions. This technique will provide a new and efficient approach for cleaning the dust with negligible power consumption from solar panels itself without the need for an external power supply. This project integrates advances in laser-assisted manufacturing, modelling, thin-film solar panel manufacturing, photovoltaic panel testing, and large-scale installations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.