30 Jun 2023 3:12 pm
There were solar panels for sale when I was a kid, fifty years ago.
Hail is a well known risk for solar panels. The panels are built to withstand just so large of hailstones, no more.
That little 20 acre solar farm sits in an area surrounded by homes with shingled roofs, and there’s probably a century of insurance company data about the risk of shingled roofs in that insurance market.
Every solar panel is Underwriter’s Laboratory listed:
——All solar panel manufacturers must submit their solar modules for testing to get a UL listing. The UL requirements include tests to prove that the solar panels can withstand hail to a certain extent.The first solar panel hail test is a standard impact test. A 2-inch solid steel sphere drops from a height of 51 inches. The energy from this impact is equivalent to a 1-3/8 inch diameter hailstone hitting the solar panel at terminal velocity.
For the second solar panel hail test, a pneumatic cannon fires 25 millimeter (almost 1-inch) ice balls directly onto the solar panel at 52 miles per hour. The ice balls strike the solar panel in at least ten different locations. Then, the solar panel undergoes a test to ensure 95% or better energy production with no visible damage and no water leaks.
——
That was a severe storm, that exceeded UL standards.
The price of the insurance is all baked into the project.