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Climatic and Dust Impacts on the Benban Solar Park in Egypt
Article editors: Dr. Eleni Athanasopoulou and Dr. Panagiotis Kosmopoulos, National Observatory of Athens, Greece
Introduction
The Benban solar park in Egypt is one of the largest photovoltaic installations worldwide (Figure 1). Within the framework of the CiROCCO project, the impact of aerosols—mainly desert dust—and clouds on energy production is investigated, using satellite observations and computational models. Variations in energy performance, economic benefits, and related greenhouse gas emissions are quantified.
Figure 1. Satellite image (source: Google Earth) of the Benban Solar Park (Egypt).
Image source: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16234379
Measurements and Methodology
To study solar production at the Benban park, a combination of satellite data, processing software, and computational tools was used. Specifically, MODIS data and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) were employed for aerosol monitoring, while data from EUMETSAT were used for cloud monitoring.
The simulation of solar radiation and the estimation of generated energy were carried out using specialized tools (SoDa Pro, PVGIS), contributing to the accurate calculation of fluctuations in photovoltaic system performance.
Impact of Climatic Parameters
The analysis showed that aerosols, particularly desert dust, are the main factor affecting solar radiation at Benban. The decreasing trends in aerosol and cloud influence on the radiation reaching the ground are reflected as follows: −17.78 Wh/m²/year due to aerosol reduction and −36.29 Wh/m²/year due to decreased cloud cover (Figure 2).
Although the numerical value for clouds is higher, the frequency and intensity of dust events make aerosols a more significant obstacle to the efficiency of photovoltaic installations.
Figure 2. The mean annual 20-year trend of climatological effects on radiation reaching the ground at the Benban Solar Park (Egypt).
Image source: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16234379
Energy Losses and Economic Impacts
The study estimates that the reduction of dust and clouds leads to an increase in annual production of about 1 GWh, corresponding to additional revenue of $62,000 and a reduction of approximately 705 tons of CO₂ emissions.
Conversely, during periods of intense dust events, energy losses reach 2.86 GWh, with economic losses amounting to around $178,300 and CO₂ emissions of about 1,997 tons within just a few days (Table 1).
Outlook
This study highlights the practical benefits of Earth Observations for the strategic planning of solar energy utilization as a means of addressing climate change. The proposed methodology can be applied to similar regions and integrated into decision-making processes, enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of photovoltaic projects.
This article is a synopsis of the recently published scientific article in the Journal of Remote Sensing:
Dhake, Harshal, Panagiotis Kosmopoulos, Antonis Mantakas, Yashwant Kashyap, Hesham El-Askary, and Omar Elbadawy. 2024. “Climatological Trends and Effects of Aerosols and Clouds on Large Solar Parks: Application Examples in Benban (Egypt) and Al Dhafrah (UAE)” Remote Sensing 16, no. 23: 4379. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16234379