Recording of Wednesday, May 07, 2025 | The smarter E Europe | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 18:12 .

Experts Delve into Solar PV Design Challenges and Innovations Amidst Weather Extremes and Market Pressures

The panel discussion, led by Jonathan Leloux from LuciSun, examined the challenges in solar PV systems related to snow loads, wind loads, and hailstorms. A significant concern was whether current Eurocode standards adequately address these environmental factors amid climate change's increasing weather intensity. Repetitive snow loading can damage modules due to brittle cells at low temperatures and thinner glass fronts; a proposed solution is roof-integrated PVs for faster snow shedding. The conversation highlighted the tension between engineering integrity and market demands where cost constraints often lead companies to compromise on structural resilience against extreme events like hurricanes or hailstorms. Industry practices tend to prioritize immediate capital expenditures over long-term operational costs (LCOE), resulting in vulnerable designs during severe conditions despite innovations such as tracker protection systems post-hailstorm events being overlooked due to high CAPEX concerns. Additionally, assessing damage in solar modules remains challenging with skepticism around claims of tracker performance under harsh conditions suggesting marketing may outpace reality. Electroluminescence (EL) imaging is used for identifying cell cracks but is costly and not widely covered by insurers—highlighted by an example involving a $500,000 insurance claim using EL imaging after hail damage litigation purposes. Emerging methods like drone-based inspections offer more efficient large-area assessments while proper installer training could reduce installation-related damages though it faces industry-wide challenges due to associated costs with routine post-installation evaluations following adverse weather incidents.

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Speaker

Jonathan Leloux
Managing Director
LuciSun
Belgium

Talk of session: Utility-Scale Solar Power III: Impacts of Extreme Weather on PV Power Plants

The increase in frequency and intensity of severe weather events associated with global climate change poses a growing risk to PV systems worldwide. These local and global risks range from outright destruction of power plants to long-term performance losses due to accelerated component and system degradation. Without concerted and event-specific resilience strategies, severe weather increasingly threatens the robustness and availability of PV generation worldwide. This session will: Raise awareness of climate change and its implications for a solar-intensive energy economy Present a range of extreme-weather events that can impact PV power plants and identify/quantify the risks Share strategies for designing and siting storm-resilient PV systems Provide information on failure mechanisms and their root causes.

Further Talks of this session:

Mapping Decisions Along the Value Chain: Who Gives a Watt?

Speaker

Ulrike Jahn
Senior Scientist
Fraunhofer Center for Silicon-Photovoltaics CSP
Germany

To Talk

Trends in Extreme Weather and Their Implications for Solar-Energy Generation

Speaker

Dr. Laurie Burnham
Principal Member of the Technical Staff
Sandia National Laboratories
United States

To Talk

Quantifying the Impact of Dust and Snow on PV Power Plants

Speaker

Thore Müller
CEO
PVRADAR Labs GmbH
Germany

To Talk

Tracking Through the Storm: Outsmarting Hail in Solar PV Systems

Speaker

Giosue Maugeri
Researcher
Ricerca sul sistema Energetico - RSE SpA
Italy

To Talk

Gone With the Wind(Storm): Keeping Your PV Systems Grounded in Extreme Weather

Speaker

Prof. Leonardo Micheli
Associate Professor
Sapienza University of Rome
Italy

To Talk

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