Water and Cost Reduction from the Application of EDS to Facilitate Water Free Cleaning in Concentrated Solar Power

Soiling in solar power generation will be a significant obstacle to its growth if a water free method cannot be found. Demand for water in arid regions will increase as more solar power generation is built, requiring more water to clean the optical surface, in turn increasing the price of water. This will lead to increased operating costs for solar power generation, and potentially disputes in locations where water is scarce. The electrodynamic screen (EDS) can reduce soiling and contribute to restoring the optical surface without the use of water. Periodic cleaning will still be required, but at reduced frequency, leading to a significant reduction in the consumption of water. In this model, it was found that a 250 MW concentrated solar power plant would have a 74% reduction in water given current laboratory production uncertainties. This indicates that EDS technology could decrease both the operating cost and the water use for solar generation plants.