Full article available on PV Tech

Earlier this year, the Fighting Jays solar project in Texas was battered by “golf ball-sized” hail, an out-of-season weather event that cut into the project’s functionality, and drew attention to the risks associated with developing large-scale solar projects.

While weather damage itself is nothing new in the solar sector – the Fighting Jays incident rekindled questions about the risk of hail damage at solar projects – the widespread surprise at the extent and damage of the hailstorm suggests that this is a risk that has not been fully considered by the solar industry. As the Earth’s climate worsens, out-of-season weather events are more likely to take place, raising the prospect of a greater range of extreme weather incidents that will have to be considered by developers and financiers of solar projects.