Abstract:
Electricity generation from solar energy has a huge potential since it relies mainly on
an abundant and clean source. The global textile industry which is the key share-holder
in economy and exports of various developing and developed countries, is shifting
towards clean and reliable energy resources. Many textile industries have installed
solar power plants to fulfil their power demand. In textile industries, large amounts
cotton dust emission and exposure is a crucial problem. The accumulation of cotton
dust on solar panels also causes performance degradation of panels. This project aims
to experimentally investigate the performance deterioration ofsolar panels caused by
cotton dust and other environmental factors such as wind, humidity, and temperature
variations. The deposition of cotton dust on solar panels decreases output power and
conversion efficiency as low and attenuated irradiance reaches the outer surface ofthe
panel thus resulting in performance degradation ofsolar panels.
