Sha Li and Brett Pendleton at the PV Reliability Workshop in Denver. Source: Leeward

Blind test confirms PVRADAR’s soiling model accuracy

Leeward Renewable Energy, a leading U.S. renewable energy company, partnered with PVRADAR to evaluate soiling losses across their U.S. portfolio. Results were presented by Sha Li and Brett Pendleton at the PV Reliability Workshop hosted by NREL in Denver, Colorado, using two PV power plants in California as case studies. The goal was to conduct a blind test comparing PVRADAR’s soiling model with widely used alternatives from pvlib and validate them against I-V curve measurements.

Side-by-side comparison of industry models and physical measurements

Leeward benchmarked three soiling models — Kimber, HSU, and PVRADAR — using identical rainfall inputs and compared model outputs against I-V curve measurements taken before and after module cleaning. The PVRADAR model showed the closest match to measured performance losses at both sites, while the other models consistently underestimated soiling levels.

Building a validated foundation for soiling risk management

Following the study, Leeward aims to extend this approach across more sites and build a measurement-backed model validation database. This foundation will support more accurate soiling risk assessment for development assets and enable data-driven optimization of cleaning schedules for operational plants.

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