The performance of Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Solar Park unexpectedly gained a boost from the high humidity experienced in the emirate.

Speaking at the MEED Clean Energy Forum conference held in Dubai on 22-24 September, Matthew Merfert, Middle East director of technology at the US’ First Solar, said the high humidity had provided a net benefit of 2-4 per cent in solar panel performance, going against perceived wisdom for such environmental conditions.

Merfert said the developer had not expected this reaction.

A challenge for solar performance is temperature and humidity. The latter changes the light spectrum hitting the solar panels. Generally, increased humidity decreases performance, but Merfert said in this case, it shifted the light spectrum into a more convertible light, benefiting performance.

He added that the solar park initially experienced performance losses of 35 per cent due to sand and dust covering the panels, but once a cleaning programme was introduced, this was clawed back. Panels are now drycleaned monthly.