Abstract:
Energy demand is increasing while we are facing a depletion of fossils fuels, the main
source of energy production in the world. These last years, photovoltaic (PV) system
technologies are growing rapidly among alternative sources of energy to contribute
to mitigation of climate change. However, PV system efficiency researches operating
under West African weather conditions are nascent. The first objective of this study
is to investigate the sensitivity of common monocrystalline PV efficiency to local
meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, solar radiation) in two contrasted cities over West Africa: Niamey (Niger) in a Sahelian arid area and Abidjan
(Côte d’Ivoire) in atropical humid area. The second objective is to quantify the effect
of dust accumulation on PV efficiency in Niamey (Niger). The preliminary results
show that PV efficiency is more sensitive to high temperature change especially under Niamey climate conditions (warmer than Abidjan) where high ambient temperatures above 33˚C lead to an important decrease of PV efficiency. Increase of relative
humidity induces a decrease of PV efficiency in both areas (Niamey and Abidjan). A
power loss up to 12.46% is observed in Niamey after 21 days of dust accumulation.
