Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A Review

Urban soiling, consisting of dust, industrial byproducts, and other pollutants, presents a significant risk to the effectiveness and safety of solar energy systems. To achieve the goal of net zero, having renewable energy systems such as solar panels in urban environments can help. This review will...

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Main Authors: Bingying Zheng, Yihua Hu, Mohammed Alkahtani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Solar
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/5/1/11
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author Bingying Zheng
Yihua Hu
Mohammed Alkahtani
author_facet Bingying Zheng
Yihua Hu
Mohammed Alkahtani
author_sort Bingying Zheng
collection DOAJ
description Urban soiling, consisting of dust, industrial byproducts, and other pollutants, presents a significant risk to the effectiveness and safety of solar energy systems. To achieve the goal of net zero, having renewable energy systems such as solar panels in urban environments can help. This review will examine the composition and variety of urban soiling and evaluate its impact on PV installation. The study will analyze the efficiency loss attributable to soiling, focusing on its impact on small-scale installations such as rooftops, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), and large-scale urban solar installations. Furthermore, this study will also investigate various developing technologies and strategies to reduce the effects of urban soiling. This encompasses the examination of automated cleaning systems and robotic maintenance, with a specific focus on their potential effectiveness. This review aims to underline the importance of addressing urban soiling within the framework of sustainable urban development and the expansion of solar energy, with further research into the development of soiling mitigation technologies. Finally, soil management and further research gaps will be discussed.
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publisher MDPI AG
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series Solar
spelling doaj-art-b2f308ca1f6a4e80a2065ee33232ee102025-08-20T03:44:05ZengMDPI AGSolar2673-99412025-03-01511110.3390/solar5010011Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A ReviewBingying Zheng0Yihua Hu1Mohammed Alkahtani2Department of Engineering, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UKDepartment of Engineering, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UKCollege of Engineering, University of Bisha, Bisha 61922, Saudi ArabiaUrban soiling, consisting of dust, industrial byproducts, and other pollutants, presents a significant risk to the effectiveness and safety of solar energy systems. To achieve the goal of net zero, having renewable energy systems such as solar panels in urban environments can help. This review will examine the composition and variety of urban soiling and evaluate its impact on PV installation. The study will analyze the efficiency loss attributable to soiling, focusing on its impact on small-scale installations such as rooftops, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), and large-scale urban solar installations. Furthermore, this study will also investigate various developing technologies and strategies to reduce the effects of urban soiling. This encompasses the examination of automated cleaning systems and robotic maintenance, with a specific focus on their potential effectiveness. This review aims to underline the importance of addressing urban soiling within the framework of sustainable urban development and the expansion of solar energy, with further research into the development of soiling mitigation technologies. Finally, soil management and further research gaps will be discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/5/1/11BIPVPV panelssoil managementurban soiling
spellingShingle Bingying Zheng
Yihua Hu
Mohammed Alkahtani
Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A Review
Solar
BIPV
PV panels
soil management
urban soiling
title Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A Review
title_full Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A Review
title_fullStr Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A Review
title_full_unstemmed Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A Review
title_short Strategies to Reduce Urban Pollution Effects on Solar Panels: A Review
title_sort strategies to reduce urban pollution effects on solar panels a review
topic BIPV
PV panels
soil management
urban soiling
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/5/1/11
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