Unpaved roads and exposed soil

Unpaved roads and exposed soil near or inside a PV array are local dust sources, and they can make granular dust soiling losses uneven across the site. Dust that settles on the module glass scatters and absorbs light, so module current and plant output drop, and patchy deposits can cause mismatch between strings or substrings. Utility-scale sites often have access roads running through the array, built during civil construction, and these roads need regular maintenance. Exposure is high during construction, when graded sites usually have no ground cover and unmated connectors can be exposed to dust and moisture. Soil type matters: one Italian study found much higher soiling losses at a plant on sandy soil than at a plant on more compact soil. To reduce exposure, establish low-growing vegetation as ground cover early in operation and limit grading, and use polymer soil conditioners to stabilize bare soil surfaces. Remaining dust can be managed with cleaning schedules that are cost-effective, anti-soiling coatings, and trackers that can tilt to steep angles.

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• sentence 1: support check: partial - The passage says roads and exposed soil can make soiling loss spatially uneven, but it doesn't say they are local dust sources or that they sit near or inside the array. -->