The Performance of PV Module Cover Coatings for Coastal and Floating Solar

Photovoltaic module cover glass coatings are used to improve the energy efficiency of solar panels. However, not much is known about how these coatings perform in salty conditions such as coastal areas. With recent interest towards coastal PV and floating PV deployment, understanding how these coatings operate in demanding environmental conditions can determine their industrial feasibility and technological development. This study investigates the performance and durability of commonly used porous SiO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> anti-reflective coatings against an anti-soiling coating when exposed to salty spray mist, simulating accelerated coastal and floating conditions. SEM images and UV/Vis spectroscopy revealed that salt spray mist causes the porous SiO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> to mechanically fail due to coating abrasion and embedded salt crystals that reduced the optical transmission by an absolute ~1.5 T% over 3 cycles. Additionally, by the second cycle of testing, the anti-soiling coating performed better than the porous SiO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> due to its improved mechanical resistance and lower surface energy which resisted soiling from adhering to the surface, mitigating optical transmission losses.