The solar market is always fighting nature’s elements, and if a threat can extend longer than a shadow, hail damage can very well be that threat. A new driving partnership is about to transform solar projects’ analysis and prevention of said threat. Global Risk Consultants Corp. (GRC), a leading independent property risk engineering services firm, is partnering with VDE Americas, a solar hail risk analytics leader, to embed VDE’s advanced hail Probable Maximum Loss (PML) data into GRC’s comprehensive Natural Hazards risk reports.
“This strategic relationship provides our policyholders with a broad-based solution and extended coverage—including solar power—to help them better withstand increasingly powerful convective storms,”
GRC President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Bates described. This relationship will enable solar farm operators and developers to access previously inaccessible insights into their hail risk exposure, allowing for wiser, more proactive risk management decisions.
The new Natural Hazard risk reports will combine GRC’s 67 years of experience as an international property risk consultant with VDE’s own hail risk modeling method. VDE’s process is entirely new, combining radar and ground-based weather data to determine the resistance of solar equipment to hail. This provides very detailed site-by-site estimates of the financial losses that will occur, offering information about likely damage and business interruption that was previously unavailable.
“The hail risk technology was created specifically in response to the huge losses we’ve seen in the solar market,”
said Brian Grenko, president and CEO of VDE Americas. He provided a rough estimate: hail now accounts for half or more of all covered losses in the solar market but only about two percent of actual claims by volume. This partnership will make it much easier for groups to identify and address this major threat, thereby protecting important assets for green energy.
This partnership ensures a shared commitment to data-driven risk management and adherence to industry best practices. Integrated Natural Hazards PML risk reports will enable solar project stakeholders to make better decisions throughout the design, procurement, and operating stages. Results learned will directly inform resiliency improvements through the selection of best-in-class equipment and the execution of key strategies, such as “hail stop” tracker positioning – angling solar panels to reduce damage during infrequent storms. These proactive risk reduction measures have a likely measurable payoff and can include best-in-class renewable energy insurance coverage, potentially increasing capacity provided, and possibly decreasing premiums.
