One of the best places to put a solar panel is in the desert,
where it's sunny. But deserts are also dusty, which means the panels
have to be washed frequently so the dust doesn't stop them from
capturing sunlight. New technology could provide a solution--by letting
solar panels clean themselves.
The technology was developed for future rover missions to Mars, but it could work here on Earth to keep solar panels operating at peak capacity. It uses electrostatic charge to repel dust and force it to the edges of the panels. It can remove 90 percent of the dust on a solar panel in a two-minute cycle, says Malay Mazumder, a research professor at Boston University who led the work. The technology was described this week at the American Chemical Society meeting in Boston.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology Review: Self-Cleaning Solar Panels
Author: Kevin Bullis
