Dust-prone desert of the Southwest may be ideal for solar energy

Solar energy developers eyeing parts of southern New Mexico may have less to worry about than expected when it comes to dust. A new study led by University of Texas at El Paso researchers concludes that photovoltaic panels in Alamogordo—a region battered by frequent dust storms carrying particles from the White Sands gypsum dune field—lose only about 2% to 3% of their power output to dust accumulation, a rate far lower than that of solar facilities in comparable desert regions worldwide.