Considering solar energy being a top priority for public and private entities across the UAE and the region, the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and Petrofac have teamed up to improve solar farm efficiency.

AUS and Petrofac have collaborated to create an IoT edge device capable of remotely assessing the cleanliness of solar panels.

Understanding how clean individual panels are is essential for solar plant operators to save money, optimize electricity output, and enable preventative maintenance. Researchers discovered that two months of tarnishing can decrease a panel's electricity generation by 40%, with dirt being the most significant impediment to dependable solar energy output. Large-scale maintenance of solar farms, on the other hand, is expensive, cumbersome, and disruptive to grid security. Having several sensor nodes that can pinpoint individual panels that need to be cleaned allows operators to improve power production while minimizing the typical expenditures associated with panel servicing.

Using open-source technologies, microcontrollers, and smart sensors, the edge gadget constantly checks the performance of solar panels. The solar farm's operators collect information about the condition of the panels through a wireless connection and cloud-based server, enabling them to observe and act on the information in real-time. Other than notifying when solar cells ought to be cleaned, the gadget can identify defects and anticipate electricity output. Temperature, humidity, and solar radiation can also be monitored using the instrument. It is meant for large-scale solar installations such as Abu Dhabi's Noor Project and Dubai's Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

Such technology is especially important for the UAE, which is one of the world's top solar energy suppliers. The nation is now constructing the world's largest solar energy facility, which will be situated in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Over $163 billion was budgeted as part of the UAE's National Energy Strategy 2050, which was unveiled in 2017, to achieve the country's aim of increasing the proportion of renewable energy sources to the overall capacity mix to 50%. (44% of the mix consists of renewables). As the industry evolves, the new technology has the potential to become widely used.

The Renewable Energy Research Centre (RERC) of the College of Engineering at AUS is actively working on numerous renewable energy initiatives. The AUS Petrofac Chair Endowment supports the center, which employs faculty, research assistants, undergraduate students, and graduate students.

The relevance of the research was highlighted by Dr. Rached Dhaouadi, Professor of Electrical Engineering at AUS and Petrofac Research Chair in Renewable Energy: "The tremendous funding of Petrofac through the Research Chair in Renewable Energy enables these substantial increases in solar energy outputs feasible." While the UAE's plentiful sunshine makes it a great location for solar energy projects, the UAE's solar energy production faces environmental obstacles such as humidity, dust, and high temperatures. The edge device we invented will let the UAE leverage its inherent advantages in solar energy generation by eliminating several of these problems. The edge gadget will contribute to reaching the UAE's renewable energy targets and lowering dependency on fossil fuels by expanding the effectiveness of solar panels. Dr. Dhaouadi and Dr. Imran Zualkernan from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering are working on the gadget alongside laboratory teacher Salsabeel Shapsough and research assistant Mohannad Takrouri.

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change, has stated that the UAE is ideally positioned to deliver low-cost, low-carbon energy as worldwide demand recovers and is predicted to expand in tandem with economic expansion.

“As a result, in a world that requires more energy with reduced emissions, the UAE is making strides to develop its low carbon crude capability,” Dr. Al Jaber stated.

He highlighted that oil and gas would continue to play a significant role with a broadening energy mix and that broadening the country's energy supply is not only the prudent path ahead, but may also create new economic possibilities.