This article was written with the assistance of AI and edited by Angela Sabarese
In a recent CLM webinar, Britton Hager, an expert from Engineering Design and Testing (EDT) Forensic Engineering & Consulting, presented a comprehensive overview of large solar farm damage assessment techniques. Hager, who travels nationwide to solar installations, addressed the complex challenges of evaluating and repairing damage to utility-scale solar farms following major weather events.
Damage Assessment
The presentation covered critical aspects of solar farm damage assessment, including identification tools, repair protocols, project monitoring, and cost estimation. Hager emphasized that most damage assessments involve major weather events such as hail, wind, lightning, floods, or fires, though design and construction defects can also cause widespread issues across these massive installations.
The presentation highlighted various testing methods, from basic visual inspection to sophisticated techniques like drone thermography, IV curve tracing, and electroluminescence testing. However, Hager advocated for a balanced approach, noting that "sometimes it does make sense just to get a lot of people out there and just walk the site... Sometimes just putting our eyes on it and getting a lot of people out there early on will save time."
Challenges
A key theme throughout the discussion was the overwhelming scale of modern solar farms and the challenges this presents. "We're going back to a single panel that might only be four foot by eight feet, but [if] we've got 700,000 panels across the 2,000 acres, it can get a little daunting to figure out what's broken and where," Hager explained, illustrating the magnitude of assessment tasks.
Another significant theme was the industry's relative inexperience with large-scale damage events. Hager observed that "it's usually the insured's first time seeing damage like this if they're big weather events. And it could be the adjuster and the contractor's first time too."
The webinar underscores the critical importance of establishing clear protocols, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and balancing thorough assessment with the urgent need to restore power generation capacity in these massive renewable energy installations.