HAIL AND SOLAR: A COSTLY COMBINATION

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The Problem with Hail:

Since 2019 the insurance industry has seen hail claims totaling $5-$80 million from solar farms. In 2022 renewable energy saw losses of $300-400 million from hail damage alone.

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A Closer Look:

In response, a research paper by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, “The vulnerability of solar panels to hail,” found that damage to solar panels occurs primarily with hailstones with a size exceeding at least 3 cm. “Larger hailstones (more than 4 cm) cause more damage on average than smaller hailstones, but they also show greater variety in the amount of damage to solar panels.”

According to the National Severe Storm Laboratory, severe thunderstorms produce hail stones ranging from 2.54 cm - to 4.445 cm in diameter with an expected speed of 25-40 mph (40-64 km/h).[2]

The strongest supercells produce hail 5.08 cm to 10 cm in diameter with a fall speed between 44-72 mph (70-115 km/h).

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The Solution:

NEINICE coating has been shown to withstand impact speeds of up to 67 mph (107 km/h) with no damage to the coating layer or the panel beneath.

These tests were performed using ice projectiles with a diameter of 4.5 cm.

This indicates that NEINICE can provide significant protection from the most common sizes of destructive hail traveling at high speeds.

Want to learn more about how NEINICE can defend your solar panels from damaging hailstorms? Get in touch with our team today!

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