Inside every module maker’s rules
A module warranty covers the modules, not the way they’re cleaned. Makers set cleaning conditions, and damage from cleaning outside them isn’t covered: Trina’s manual says so plainly, and Chemitek warns that scrapers or high-pressure cleaning will void the warranty. A letter of conformity approves a cleaning product only within the maker’s conditions. LONGi’s letter says in so many words that it is not a guarantee of warranty.
So before any clean, we check six things for each module series on your plant:
| Check | What we confirm |
|---|---|
| Letter of conformity | The product’s letter covers your maker and your module series |
| Water | Hardness, TDS and pH at the point of use, on the same basis as the maker’s limit |
| Pressure | The machine’s setting at the nozzle, against the maker’s limit |
| Brushes and machines | Bristle type, rotating heads, robot weight, and any approval the maker requires |
| Water temperature | How far the water is from the module’s temperature |
| People | That the crew is trained on the method and the maker’s rules |
Bonded deposits are where modules get damaged: scraping cured cement or scale off the glass scratches the anti-reflective coating. We remove them chemically, with a removal agent the maker has approved, never with scrapers or high-pressure jets. The maker-by-maker limits are on warranty-safe methods.
Every clean on record
If a warranty claim, an insurance question or a lender’s review ever turns on how the modules were cleaned, the answer should be on file. Our washing procedures set out what the crew records after each section, and the O&M contractor keeps the log:
- date, block and strings cleaned;
- the crew, and their training on the method;
- product, dilution and quantity;
- water source, its hardness on the day, and any treatment;
- nozzle pressure and brush type;
- readings before and after: string current, soiling ratio or inverter output;
- photos of the glass before and after;
- anything done outside the maker’s conditions, and why.
We review the log against the method statement, spot-check cleans on site and test the water where the crew draws it. The log, the letters of conformity, the water tests and the method statements are kept together in one cleaning file per plant.
Reported in energy and rand
The KPIs we set up, plant by plant and for the portfolio:
- Soiling loss: soiling ratio and soiling rate by season, and the energy lost in MWh and in rand at each plant’s tariff.
- Recovery per clean: the energy each clean recovers against its cost, and the performance ratio before and after, temperature-corrected and checked against soiling sensors so that clipping, curtailment and outages aren’t counted as soiling.
- Cleaning efficiency: water used per m² and area cleaned per crew-hour.
- Incidents: breakage, scratches and any work outside the maker’s conditions.
IEC 61724-1 requires soiling measurement for Class A monitoring. We choose, place and read the sensors (soiling monitoring) and set each plant’s cleaning interval from its own numbers (cleaning strategy).
Alongside your O&M contractor
We don’t take over the site, the crews or the contract. The O&M contractor runs the cleaning; we give it a method that stays inside the rules, train the crews and supply the Chemitek products with their safety data sheets. More on working with your O&M team.
| Task | Owner or asset manager | O&M contractor | RenewChem |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning clause and KPIs | Agrees them | Delivers them | Writes them |
| Method, products and water | Approves them | Applies them | Designs them, supplies the products, tests the water |
| Records | Receives them | Keeps the log | Sets it up and reviews it |
| Results | Decides | Reports output | Measures soiling and recovery |
Wind, CSP and plants not yet built
- Wind: we inspect blades, tell you plainly whether it’s dirt or erosion, and clean blades, towers and nacelles by drone. Wind turbine blade cleaning
- CSP: we measure mirror reflectance to the SolarPACES guideline and set wash triggers. CSP mirror reflectivity
- Planned plants: a soiling study puts measured soiling into the yield model and the O&M budget. New-plant soiling study
