kWh Analytics

If you're looking for some portable solar insights this holiday weekend, try... The Solar Risk Assessment: Audiobook Edition 🎶 The full report, including insights on extreme weather risk, operational risk, and battery risks, is now available in audio format. Find it wherever you listen to the Currents podcast by Norton Rose Fulbright (Apple Podcasts, Spotify): https://lnkd.in/gEz6tBJ3

The #solar industry is focused on smart growth. kWh Analytics's 2024 Solar Risk Assessment helps companies, investors, and other stakeholders to make data-driven decisions about solar deployment.   https://lnkd.in/gb338bS

kWh Analytics Underwriter Michael Kalnas speaks with Amy McCann Antczak of GreenieRE on the importance of risk transfer solutions in making renewable energy projects insurable and bankable.

Day 14 of 14 - The final article of the 2024 Solar Risk Assessment! As we wrap up our deep dive into the 2024 SRA, we turn to a critical safety issue in the energy storage sector. The article by Industrial Fire Protection (IFP) highlights alarming statistics from a recent industry survey: 26% of audited energy storage systems have deficiencies in their fire detection and suppression capabilities. Lithium ion fires are no joke. Fire suppression is extremely tricky, as the chemicals involved don’t typically react well to water, and tend to blaze on as long as they have oxygen to do so. A standard industry practice for battery fires right now is to ‘let it burn.’ Illy L. did a nice job of laying out some cell and site-level resiliency measures and risk mitigation strategies that asset owners can and should employ to protect their assets and their people. As we conclude this series, it's clear that the solar and energy storage industries have come a long way, but still face a complex set of challenges. From extreme weather to operational risks and safety concerns, the path forward requires innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to resilience. Thanks for joining me on this journey through the report, let's continue to work together to accelerate the clean energy transition! 2024 Solar Risk Assessment (plus the audiobook edition!): https://lnkd.in/g_jTRdEy

Brokers: A crucial link in renewable energy's growth CEO Jason Kaminsky recently spoke with Insurance Business on how brokers are becoming increasingly important in solar and battery. Brokers serve as a bridge between carriers and asset owners, translating insights from the insurance world to help asset owners develop and operate more resilient projects. We encourage asset owners to work closely with their brokers even in the development phase of a project to get their input on insurability and bankability - and be sure to ask them for a 'kWhote'! Read more about the evolving role of brokers in solar: https://lnkd.in/gUbUBqvu

Day 12 of 14 - Battery storage set to surge 13x globally The energy transition is driving some big changes in the power and energy markets, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are at the forefront. Alain Caplan at Lloyd's reveals that the global BESS sector is set for a potential 13-fold growth of current capacity. With about 15GW of installed capacity worldwide and an additional 181GW either planned or under construction, the BESS market is attracting significant attention from investors and insurers alike. I'll be expanding on some of the risks associated with BESS in the coming days, and they can be serious. Nevertheless, storage is a crucial piece to the clean energy transition. It allows us to smooth out the intermittency of renewable sources like solar and wind, providing grid stability and enabling higher penetration of clean energy. As we navigate this exciting period of growth, we must balance the opportunities with prudent risk management. The future of our energy systems depends on getting this right. Read about it in the 2024 Solar Risk Assessment : https://lnkd.in/g_jTRdEy

Day 11 of 14 - The energy loss showdown - Inverters v DC distribution When it comes to solar system failures, not all issues are created equal. The Solar Risk Assessment article by my colleague, Charity Faith Sotero, reveals some intriguing insights about equipment failures and their impact on energy production. We’ve been doing research in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on equipment reliability and resilience, in the hopes of developing a ‘safe driver discount’ for reliable assets. In this process, we’ve collected and analyzed thousands of insight-rich O&M text logs that record corrective maintenance issues and remedies. An analysis of these logs, completed with natural language processing and a custom PV language dictionary, reveals that while inverters are responsible for 59% of lost energy, DC distribution issues, including connectors, combiners, and wiring, tend to generate O&M tickets that hang open for longer periods of time. Connector mismatch issues also seem to have an outsized impact on O&M time and labor, and of course, system down-time. Hopefully these insights can lead asset owners to some data-driven strategies: prioritize inverter sub-components and correctly-rated connectors for your spare parts inventory, and have trained O&M providers available to quickly deal with these types of issues before they cause underperformance! Find the full article in the 2024 Solar Risk Assessment: https://lnkd.in/g_jTRdEy

2024 Solar Risk Assessment: Audiobook Edition 🎶 Recognizing the demanding schedules of industry professionals, we've created an audio version of our leading report on renewables risk management and mitigation, released in collaboration with Norton Rose Fulbright on their Currents podcast. This new format has all the same key insights on extreme weather impacts, operational challenges, and battery storage risks as our written report, now available on the go! Find it wherever you listen to Currents (Apple Podcasts, Spotify): https://lnkd.in/gb338bS

Day 10 of 14 - Soiling: the quiet production killer Sometimes, the simplest issues can have the biggest impact on our bottom line. Soiling might seem like a minor issue, but it can have a major impact on solar project performance. Clean Power Research highlights that unmitigated soiling can reduce annual energy production by up to 50% in specific regions. The study compares two common models for estimating soiling-related energy impacts, and took a look at soiling conditions in international zones such as Saudi Arabia. As we continue to deploy, deploy, deploy, building in high-soiling locations will have an impact on performance without proper soiling mitigation strategies and routine maintenance. Read the article by Evan Kyte and Hang Bui in the 2024 Solar Risk Assessment: https://lnkd.in/g_jTRdEy

Day 9 of 14 - Safety issues requiring system de-energization found in 11% of PV systems Safety should always be a top priority in the solar industry. However, the 2024 Solar Risk Assessment article by David Penalva and SolarGrade by HelioVolta reveals a concerning statistic: 11% of U.S. C&I and DG solar projects inspected by auditors from January 2023 to March 2024 had critical safety issues that required partial or total de-energization, and connectors seem to be the main culprit These safety problems not only pose risks to personnel and property but also lead to financial loss due to reduced energy yield and remediation costs. SolarGrade also suggests ways to avoid these issues, with proper third-party QA/QC, proactive preventative maintenance, and organized, geo-referenced fieldwork records. As the solar industry continues to grow, we must prioritize safety and adopt best practices to mitigate these types of risks! Read the article: https://lnkd.in/g_jTRdEy