Analysis of the Soiling Effects on Commissioning of Photovoltaic Systems: Short-Circuit Current Correction

This study presents a methodology to correct short-circuit current data measured during cold commissioning of two Brazil PV power plants in the cities of Januária (semi-arid climate) and Paracatu (Equatorial climate), specifically for the soiling conditions of the PV modules. For this, the soiling ratio (SRatio) was determined for each PV string in the installation, and this factor was used in the proposed model for correction of the measured short-circuit current in order to derive the clean operating condition of the modules. The results reinforce the importance of evaluating the cold commissioning of the PV plant correcting for the conditions observed in visual inspection. Our studies have also shown differences between the soiling among the strings. The analysis shows the importance of examining all strings independently to correct more accurately for the clean performance metrics.