Sensitivity of Dust Deposition for Parabolic Trough Collector Mirrors to Different Meteorological Drivers

Theory and Results

Abstract

This abstract presents a soiling forecasting tool (SFT) for assessing the deposition of dust on parabolic trough collector (PTC) mirrors and its cumulative impact on their reflectivity. The SFT was developed by the University of Patras in the frame of the Smart Solar System (S3) project (Horizon 2020 Solar-Era.net). An initial version of the model was presented at the SolarPACES 2022 conference, where the adaptation of the model to dust transport phenomena was demonstrated. The subsequent step in the evolution of the algorithm concerned the calibration of the SFT under different atmospheric conditions. In addition, the model was modified to incorporate meteorological and aerosol forecast data as inputs. The atmospheric predictions of dust and aerosol optical depth are from the global atmospheric forecasts of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Regarding the meteorological data, three independent sources are used. Those are the Norwegian Meteorological Institute's meteorological forecasts (YR), the METAR meteorological observations from the closest airport, and lastly, the data from the automatic weather station at the location of the PTC system at the KEAN Soft Drinks Ltd factory in Limassol, Cyprus. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of the three distinct meteorological input sources on the modelled reflectivity and its comparison to measurements taken during the experimental campaign.