US scientists develop self-cleaning solar panels

In a report at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), they described how a self-cleaning coating on the surface of solar cells could increase the efficiency of producing electricity from sunlight and reduce maintenance costs for large-scale solar installations.

‘We think our self-cleaning panels used in areas of high dust and particulate pollutant concentrations will highly benefit the systems’ solar energy output,’ said study leader Malay K Mazumder, Ph.D. ‘Our technology can be used in both small- and large-scale photovoltaic systems. To our knowledge, this is the only technology for automatic dust cleaning that doesn’t require water or mechanical movement.’

Mazumder, who is with Boston University, said that the need for this technology is growing with the popularity of solar energy. The use of solar, or photovoltaic, panels is said to have increased by 50 per cent from 2003 to 2008 and forecasts suggest a growth rate of at least 25 per cent annually.