An Ironic Twist for Solar

The goal of renewable technologies like solar is to combat climate change which is causing more severe weather. But now it’s been found that severe weather can have a long-term impact on the benefits of solar.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s latest look at the impact of severe weather concluded that panels exposed to events such as hail and high winds experience a lasting productivity loss. More alarming, the losses increase when exposed to repeated events.

According to NREL each event of severe weather can on average reduce a solar system’s annual productivity by 1%. That doesn’t sound like much but if a solar system is exposed to multiple weather events the losses can become material.

“It sounds small, and maybe it is if only one system is impacted,” said Dirk Jordan, a distinguished researcher at NREL, “but if you are an owner with a fleet of 5,000 systems and many megawatts that are impacted, it could represent a lot of money.”

NREL’s analysis suggests that more rigorous testing is warranted. They cite the fact that their team found that the long-term impact on performance starts with hail that exceeds about an inch in diameter. Current standards rely on testing of hail’s impact up to one inch.

For wind, the lasting damage begins at about 56 miles per hour. And even heavy snowfall – beginning at depths of 1 meter – could have negative long-term effects.

Jordan also expressed concern over the trend toward using larger modules with thinner glass in utility-scale projects.

It should be noted that the study didn’t delve into the specific reasons why severe weather caused long-term productivity losses. NREL hopes to conduct further research in that area and expand its analysis to include other natural disasters such as heatwaves and wildfires.

Something to keep an eye.

#nrel #nationalrenewableenergylaboratory #haildamage #severeweather