Impact of a fire burn on solar irradiance and PV power

摘要

Aerosols produced by fire burns can have marked impacts on PV power production. Here we take advantage of an isolated, short-lived but well monitored fire burn event during an otherwise clear sky day a case of a serendipitous 'earth experiment' to study its impact on both solar irradiance and solar power recorded at the nearby solar lab. The local council controlled burns happened at Black Mountain in Canberra, Australia. Evidence from the solar lab sky-camera images was used to confirm that the sky was clear of clouds during the late afternoon of 4th March 2014 so that the effect of the smoke plume could be isolated, and to observe the development of the plume.