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This seems kind of like a bullshit excuse where they just didn't really want to fix the issue. There are a number of waterless cleaning systems that have been

This seems kind of like a bullshit excuse where they just didn't really want to fix the issue. There are a number of waterless cleaning systems that have been available for years, for example [1]. Additionally, why the hell would you throw away the water used for cleaning? Filtering the dust particulate out of the water is pretty straightforward (hell, you can go from muddy to fairly clean water with nothing more than a cotton t-shirt), then you reuse it to clean more panels. 1L/panel with even basic reclamation is ridiculous. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdidbRQaUEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdidbRQaUEY

ianai 6y ago
Agree. They could probably just have people walk around with blowers to blow the sand off.
- smnplk 6y ago
  Would those be a gasoline powered blowers ? ( ͜ʖ)
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - datameta 6y ago
    Perhaps a step down transformer that directly feeds a dyson blade style blower at one of the edges of each panel. More up front equipment and infrastructure cost but no employee wages. However I'm sure this is full of holes due to cost multiplied by number of solar panels and the number of transformers needed. It is also only able to clean only during the day assuming no battery or pumped hydro storage.
  - philg_jr 6y ago
    What about solar powered golf carts with blowers?
- indigo945 6y ago
  I would suggest that blowing off sand with a strong airstream would scratch the solar panels, further reducing their efficiency. Or maybe there's other problems; in any case, I find it somehow ignorant to assume that nobody in the Pakistani government has ever heard of or considered a blower (or a broom).
  - ianai 6y ago
    I assume they have heard of blowers and probably knew sand would be a problem with this install. My take away is that project was a bad faith effort to serve as a strawman against renewables for oil. This is an engineering problem not a technological problem of solar panels. Having skipped over it implies questionable motivations.
thelittleone 6y ago
I wonder how much of the 1L evaporates.
- Jedd 6y ago
  During the night and very early morning, probably very little.
  - heavyset_go 6y ago
    Evaporation often happens at night because of the temperature differences.
    - Jedd 6y ago
      > Evaporation often happens at night because of the temperature differences. I'm not sure the phrase 'temperature differences' exhibits a profound understanding of evaporation. If a location gets 45c (as per GP's reference) during the day, this doesn't necessarily speak to night time temperatures. I'll note that Bahawalpur's temperature profile is available at: https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,bahawalpur-pk,Pakistan https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Tem... For the three hottest months of the year the average lower temperature is around 25C, which suggests quite a low evaporation rate overnight. It would be great if you could provide some more detailed insights.

ianai 6y ago

Agree. They could probably just have people walk around with blowers to blow the sand off.

smnplk 6y ago
Would those be a gasoline powered blowers ? ( ͜ʖ)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- datameta 6y ago
  Perhaps a step down transformer that directly feeds a dyson blade style blower at one of the edges of each panel. More up front equipment and infrastructure cost but no employee wages. However I'm sure this is full of holes due to cost multiplied by number of solar panels and the number of transformers needed. It is also only able to clean only during the day assuming no battery or pumped hydro storage.
- philg_jr 6y ago
  What about solar powered golf carts with blowers?
indigo945 6y ago
I would suggest that blowing off sand with a strong airstream would scratch the solar panels, further reducing their efficiency. Or maybe there's other problems; in any case, I find it somehow ignorant to assume that nobody in the Pakistani government has ever heard of or considered a blower (or a broom).
- ianai 6y ago
  I assume they have heard of blowers and probably knew sand would be a problem with this install. My take away is that project was a bad faith effort to serve as a strawman against renewables for oil. This is an engineering problem not a technological problem of solar panels. Having skipped over it implies questionable motivations.

thelittleone 6y ago

I wonder how much of the 1L evaporates.

Jedd 6y ago
During the night and very early morning, probably very little.
- heavyset_go 6y ago
  Evaporation often happens at night because of the temperature differences.
  - Jedd 6y ago
    > Evaporation often happens at night because of the temperature differences. I'm not sure the phrase 'temperature differences' exhibits a profound understanding of evaporation. If a location gets 45c (as per GP's reference) during the day, this doesn't necessarily speak to night time temperatures. I'll note that Bahawalpur's temperature profile is available at: https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,bahawalpur-pk,Pakistan https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Tem... For the three hottest months of the year the average lower temperature is around 25C, which suggests quite a low evaporation rate overnight. It would be great if you could provide some more detailed insights.