A new University of Texas at El Paso study says that gypsum-heavy dust blowing off White Sands only knocks about 2% to 3% off the power output of solar panels at a federal research site in Alamogordo. That small hit, far lower than what panels see in many other desert regions, suggests arrays there might not need to be scrubbed nearly as often, trimming both water use and operations-and-maintenance labor in an already dry and expensive place to run large solar fields. The result could make parts of the southern Tularosa Basin look a lot more appealing for utility-scale solar developers.
Study site and key findings
According to a study published in Atmosphere, doctoral graduate German Rodriguez Ortiz and colleagues monitored six photovoltaic modules at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility and documented 22 dust events between late 2022 and spring 2024. The team found that much of the dust landing on the panels was rich in gypsum that could be traced to the nearby White Sands dune field, and that soiling-related power losses typically stayed in the 2% to 3% range. They also measured that most dust particles were smaller than 50 microns and that even light rainfall often brought the panels back close to their original performance.
Gypsum, wind and rain act like passive maintenance
The researchers report that gypsum absorbs less light than dust dominated by quartz or calcite, so it blocks less of the sunlight that panels need. "What we found is that this location is genuinely favorable for solar energy," lead author German Rodriguez Ortiz told TechXplore, pointing to prevailing south-to-southwest winds that tend to blow particles off south-facing modules. Those winds, combined with modest rainfall, created a kind of free cleaning service during the study period, and the team notes that rain at roughly 2.2 millimeters per hour was often enough to wash panels off.
Lower soiling means lower operating costs
The study argues that the mix of local dust mineralogy and wind patterns could allow operators to stretch out routine cleaning schedules, which would cut water demand and long-term maintenance bills, according to Atmosphere. The authors contrast Alamogordo’s modest 2% to 3% losses with soiling declines reported in some Global Dust Belt locations, where research has found power drops of 10% to 80%, underscoring how strongly dust composition can shape project economics. The experiments took place on test pads at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation site used for desalination and renewable energy demonstrations, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
Why El Paso listeners should pay attention
Local media did not miss the regional angle. El Paso radio station 95.5 KLAQ pointed out that Alamogordo sits roughly 75 miles north of the city, so the same gypsum-rich dust that drifts across panels near White Sands could also influence projects around the southern Tularosa Basin. For utilities and planners who have to build soil and water requirements into contracts and siting decisions, a naturally low-soiling landscape removes a big operational wild card. UTEP’s place-based measurements give local stakeholders hard numbers they can plug into feasibility studies and water-conservation plans instead of relying on generic desert assumptions.
Next steps for researchers and developers
The authors call for longer-term monitoring, especially through the summer monsoon season, and for more work on cleaning schedules and panel coatings that could sharpen understanding of seasonal swings, as reported by TechXplore. Extended studies would help developers estimate lifecycle savings and regional water use more accurately across the Chihuahuan Desert. For now, the UTEP results offer a rare local data point and a reminder that desert dust is not all created equal when it comes to solar power.
