Photovoltaic modules are crucial for the world’s ongoing clean energy transition. However, people want assurances that this equipment will withstand storms and other harsh weather. Many scientists believe hurricanes and other extreme events will become likelier due to climate change. Solar panel durability has understandably become a much-discussed topic among those within and outside the green energy sector.

The Need for Resilience

Solar energy professionals have already experienced examples of harsh weather damaging panels. Such events make them particularly committed to finding more durable options. One case study involved a federal building in the Virgin Islands that had a 469-kilowatt ground array damaged by two hurricanes.

A site investigation showed the storms destroyed many of the panels but others had minimal or no damage. Those involved suggested code gaps may have been partially to blame. However, they saw clear and observable causes for the damage, revealing matters to address in future designs.

Once engineers and manufacturers can determine which components get damaged most and why, they can target those aspects by changing materials, functionality or other details. Although the hurricanes damaged five sites, researchers said examining one was particularly valuable because of innovative plans to rebuild the solar farm to increase its severe weather resilience.

In another instance, golf ball-sized hail damaged panels at a Texas solar farm. Those living near the facility worried the storm may have caused the panels to leak chemicals. Representatives from the solar farm did not respond to requests for comment about the makeup of the equipment and whether the damage risks local water sources. Drone footage showed the damage extended over thousands of rows of panels, showing how severe the ramifications can be from a single storm.

How Does Design Contribute to Solar Panel Durability?

Designing solar panels and farms is a meticulous effort requiring careful planning and attention, even outside of weather-related concerns. Material design is important for all components from the large PV panels down to the smallest fasteners keeping things secured.

Not every solar panel design comes equipped with a junction box pre-installed. If that’s the case with your design, self-driving screws are regularly used to secure metal objects like power boxes to other metal components. Whether your panels come with them or you add your own, it’s important to make sure everything is secure to protect key electrical equipment.

Some companies take exposure to the elements more seriously and have changed their panels’ designs, equipping them to handle future storms. One business has an accordion-style modular array that gets built and wired in Australia before the equipment goes to worldwide clients. Those panels can withstand winds up to 166 miles per hour and take up half the real estate of conventional options. People can also fold up and move the panels, making them substantially more adaptable than fixed versions.

Additionally, people are interested in design decisions to mitigate hail damage. Most panels already have built-in trackers that turn to follow the sun as it moves. Some designers have expanded that capability by having the panels move in response to forecasted hailstorms. Some solar energy users combine that technology with equipment made of stronger materials.

One case study involved a storm with whiteout conditions and hailstones up to 3 inches in diameter. However, nearby solar panels responded by moving to a 60˚ angle to avoid damage. Most of those in areas that received 2-inch hail had virtually no damage, while the storm harmed approximately one-third of the panels in the area with 3-inch hail.

What Does the Research Say?

Researchers have become increasingly interested in how well solar panels hold up to severe weather. What have they learned so far?

Weather Not Causing Catastrophic Failures

In one case, a huge data set collected from a four-year study indicated solar panels were not failing catastrophically but degrading over time in line with expectations. That does not mean that extreme weather had no impact, but its effects were not to the extent that they should cause undue concerns.

More specifically, the team found the median outage due to extreme weather was two to four days, and there was a subsequent 1% drop in annual performance. Only a dozen systems out of 6,400 were inoperable due to weather for at least two weeks.

The study also revealed that flooding and rain were the most likely to cause solar outages, with high winds being the third most likely problem. Another positive aspect was that most systems in the study had only one weather-related issue affecting its performance. That finding suggests people do not need to worry that severe storms could be ongoing challenges for solar infrastructure. However, future statistics could tell a different story if climate change makes harsh weather happen more frequently.

Age Increases Solar Panel Weather Risks

Another study showed older solar panels were most at risk for problems due to extreme weather. Additionally, snowstorms had the biggest impact on electricity production, but solar panel performance during hurricanes depended on the location and the amount of rainfall.

This team’s work involved compiling maintenance requests from more than 800 solar farms spread across 24 states. One thing they wanted to learn was which types of severe weather most often cause low performance in solar energy equipment. An interesting takeaway was that although hailstorms can be very costly, they were not usually reflected in maintenance trends because affected parties submit insurance claims instead. However, hurricanes accounted for almost 15% of the studied data, with snow, lightning and wind also commonly mentioned.

The researchers plan to expand their work to examine wildfires. Although the data they used for this study did not include them, they recognize these extreme events as worth learning more about to increase solar panel durability.

Solar Panels Must Tolerate Harsh Weather

The information here highlights the growing interest in creating solar panels for weather extremes. When consumers, policymakers and others believe green power infrastructure can handle strong storms and other environmental challenges, they will be more likely to invest in such projects. Interested parties should stay aware of ongoing happenings since this is an active and emerging area of study and development.