kWh Analytics Reveals Top 14 Risk Management Challenges in Solar Generation

2024 Solar Risk Assessment Report highlights the remarkable progress and resilience of the solar industry in the face of evolving challenges.

The renewable industry's ability to collaborate and innovate remains one of its greatest strengths.

kWh Analytics, the market leader in Climate Insurance, today announced the release of its 6th annual Solar Risk Assessment, a comprehensive report designed to provide an objective and data-driven evaluation of solar risk. The annual report includes contributions from leaders in the solar energy industry spanning technology, financing, and insurance.

In 2024, the solar industry continued its rapid growth trajectory, fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act and increasing demand for clean energy. This year’s report expands the analysis to include Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), recognizing the increasingly critical role that storage plays in the renewable energy ecosystem.

“We’re seeing burgeoning growth in solar, wind, and battery storage,” said Jason Kaminsky, CEO at kWh Analytics. “However, to meet renewable energy deployment goals, the focus needs to be on smart growth - relying on data to inform decisions and utilizing resilience measures to protect assets. We are grateful for the collaboration of the solar, BESS and renewable insurance thought leaders included in this year’s report, recognizing that the clean energy future requires mutual understanding between operators protecting assets and underwriters pricing risks.”

The 2024 report offers detailed research on top risks including extreme weather, operational risks, and battery risks to help industry organizations overcome market hurdles and expand lines of business. Top 14 risk findings include:

Extreme Weather Risk

1. kWh Analytics: Industry standard modeling assumptions can underestimate solar project losses from weather-related physical damage by 300+%

2. Kiwa PVEL: No modern module will experience power loss >3% when the cells are severely damaged by hail

3. Waaree: During hail testing, positioning glass/glass modules in hail stow mode resulted in only a 0.8% power loss, well below the 5% threshold permitted by IEC guidelines

4. Alliant Power: Renewable energy project owners can reduce insurance costs by up to 50% in high-risk zones by investing in resilient solar site design and maintenance

5. Longroad Energy and Nextracker: 75 Degree Tilt Can Decrease PV Asset Damage Probability by 87%

Operational Risk

6. kWh Analytics: Aggregating portfolios of 4 or more sites can cut the risk of extreme downside scenarios by 50%

7. Solarlytics: Voltage Collapse Can Reduce Production by More Than 20%

8. Univers: O&M corrective action statistics show a 14% surge in winter compared to summer in 2023

9. SolarGrade: Safety problems requiring partial or total de-energization found in 11% of PV systems inspected by auditors

10. Clean Power Research: Unmitigated soiling of PV systems can reduce annual energy production by 50%

11. kWh Analytics: Inverters cause 59% of lost energy, but DC distribution issues last 2.2x longer than they’re worth

Battery Risk

12. Lloyd’s: Global role of Battery Energy Storage Systems poised for 13x growth

13. Powin: Conventional State of Charge measurements are error-prone and can result in an average error of 7% in estimation of energy available for dispatch

14. SEVO IFP: 26% of Energy Storage Systems Face Fire-Detection and Fire-Suppression Challenges

“Overcoming these challenges will require ongoing collaboration and innovation among industry leaders,” said Isaac McLean, Chief Underwriting Officer at kWh Analytics. “In this dynamic landscape, asset owners play a critical role in protecting renewable energy investments by securing comprehensive insurance coverage and seeking multiple quotes from brokers to ensure accurate protection.”

To access the complete 2024 Solar Risk Assessment, please visit www.kwhanalytics.com/solar-risk-assessment.

About kWh Analytics

kWh Analytics is a leading provider of Climate Insurance for zero carbon assets. Utilizing their proprietary database of over 300,000 operating renewable energy assets, kWh Analytics uses real-world project performance data and decades of expertise to underwrite unique risk transfer products on behalf of insurance partners. kWh Analytics has recently been recognized on FinTech Global’s ESGFinTech100 list for their data and climate insurance innovations. Property Insurance offers comprehensive coverage against physical loss, with unique recognition and consideration for site-level resiliency practices, and the Solar Revenue Put production insurance protects against downside risk and unlocks preferred financing terms. These offerings, which have insured over $27 billion of assets to date, aim to further kWh Analytics’ mission to provide best-in-class Insurance for our Climate. To learn more, please visit https://www.kwhanalytics.com/, connect with us on LinkedIn, and follow us on Twitter.

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