Evaluation of economical benefit of cleaning of soiling and snow in PV plants at three European locations

Energy loss due to soiling is one of the most important factors than can be influenced by the operator during the life of a PV plant. Snow cover can be seen as a special case of soiling applicable in countries with colder climate. A break-even analysis between energy loss due to soiling and cleaning cost was conducted for a 1 MW plant by modeling with PVsyst for three different European locations, considering both fixed tilt angle and with 2-axis tracking. As basis for net present value calculations feed-in tariffs, consumer price or spot price for electricity was used.