COVID -19 Pandemic Effect on the Solar Irradiance: Case Study

Ma`an Development Area

AHLAM. M. ALSAIDAT, MOHAMED R. GOMAA, *

Mechanical Engineering Department

Faculty of Engineering, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University

Maan, 71110 Maan

JORDAN

percentage of solar radiation in study area MDA, the recommend to do the study again in an industrial or densely

populated area, where pollution rates will be greater, which means a greater impact on the efficiency of solar PV

Panels.

Key-Words: - COVID-19 Pandemic; Solar Photovoltaic; Panels Efficiency; Air Pollutants; MDA

Received: September 29, 2021. Revised: October 7, 2022. Accepted: November 16, 2022. Published: December 29, 2022.

1 Introduction

Solar energy is one of the major sources of renewable

energy; it is free and clean. Renewable Energy in

electricity consumption with an electricity generation

of about 46.5 TWh in Germany [7]. When light

shines on a PV cell, it may be reflected, absorbed, or

pass right through. But only the absorbed light

generates electricity [1]. The performance of the solar

modules is influenced by various factors such as the

material the module is manufactured of, the angle of

inclination of the solar module, the intensity of the

solar radiation reaching the surface of the module,

soiling of the module surface, module temperature,

ambient temperature, humidity, rainfall, incident

solar radiation intensity, and spectrum, dust

deposition, pollution and shadowing [12-15].

In the present study, the authors focus on the

relationship between one of the Environmental

Factors “air pollutants” and solar radiation

incidents on PV modules during the COVED-19

Pandemic.

1.1 COVED-19 Pandemic

health but also stopped life around the world, many

sectors were affected by the pandemic, such as/*036

global economic growth, education, and the

environment, the world economy was negatively

affected due to the stop of economic activities as a

result of restriction movement and transportation to

control the spread of the pandemic, as a result of

decreasing economic activities, air pollutions percent

are reducing.

Many countries of the world have taken the decision

to lockdowns most sectors to prevent the COVID-19

Pandemic's spread. Cheval et. al [17] indicate that at

the end of March 2020, reductions in air pollution

were reported in China, Italy, and New York City,

Moreover, an overview focused on several European

countries reveals that the reduction of the weekly

and April 2020 is quasi general. Fig. registered by

the European Space Agency clearly shows how a

In Jordan, the environmental monitoring and

assessment directorate/ministry of an environment

prepared a study entitled “reduction of pollutants in

the ambient air in Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa as a result

of government actions taken from 15/3/2020 to

15/4/2020 to respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-

19) Pandemic”.

The period from 15/3/2020 to 15/4/2020, which was

the period when government measures were

the daily rates of PM10, taking into account the

impact of dust storms recorded by ambient air quality

monitoring stations in Amman city was around 38%,

in Irbid city around 15%, and Zarqa city around 30%

and the average rate of decline in all monitoring

stations in the three provinces around 28%. The study

also showed that the average rate of decline in the

daily rates of PM10 without calculating the impact of

dust storms to show the impact of the suspension of

most human activities from transportation, industry,

South Jordan and specifically Ma`an area doesn’t

have a monitoring station. The red line in the above

figure it’s the line between the pre-crisis and post-

around 50%, in the city of Irbid around 71% and

Zarqa city around 56% and the average rate of decline

in all monitoring stations in the three provinces

around 59%.

The average percentage of decline in the daily rates

of SO2 concentrations due to the discontinuation of

most human activities from transportation, industry,

and services, which was monitored by the ambient air

quality monitoring stations in the city of Amman was

around 18%, in the city of Irbid around 47% and

focused on the effect of dust and other types of air

pollutants on the performance of the solar PV cell.

Table 2: Some studies investigated the effect of air

Also, Ma`an Area has enjoyed several competitive

advantages, such as [25]:

Arabian desert, north Africa, and Arabian

Energy (kWh)

Performance Ratio (PR)

Irradiation (kWh/m2)

Monthly Data March, April, and May 2019 and

March, April, and May 2020.

Fig. 5 MDA PV plant

Pandemic for the same period 2019.

Table 3 Monthly Data March, April, and May 2019-

2020.

2020, 2021, and the same period in 2019 (Covid-

19).

Figure 6 shows the comparison between solar

panels, which may be one of the reasons for the

significant decrease in irradiation in march 2021 in

comparison with 2019. Another reason for the lack of

a noticeable change in solar radiation is due to the

ambient air quality in the Ma`an area in comparison

with Jordanian cities, so reading will observe

differences in main cities like Amman, Zarqa, or

industrial regions.

4 Conclusion

industrial processes and the road transportation sector

are responsible for about 54% of the nonmethane

volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), 51% of the

NOx, 30% of PM2.5 and 25% of SOx emissions. This

response has an impact on humans and the

environment, Consequently, the impact on air quality

was rapidly visible at various spatial scales, in Jordan

for example; the concentration of air pollutants

Significantly decrease, And by reference to many

studies research I found that inverse relationship

suggest doing further investigation for this study by

collecting solar radiation data from industrial or

Areas with more traffic.

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Contribution of Individual Authors to the

Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting

Policy)

Ahlam. M. Alsaidat, Mohamed R. Gomaa are equal

for all work.

(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)

This article is published under the terms of the

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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