Featured in Building resilience – 04-2026

Resisting rust

Over a 30-year asset life, corrosion can evolve into a structural, electrical, and fire safety issue. Corrosion drives up operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, reduces resilience to extreme events, and in some cases, can force premature decommissioning or complete structural replacement Intertek CEA’s Nicholas Hudson and Ankil Sanghvi advise on best practices.

By

pv magazine

02 Apr 2026

Periodic checks for corrosion on galvanized steel components are advisable. Reactive repairs are often too late. | Image: Ache Engineering

Solar steel is not rendered disfunctional the moment rust appears. Designers build in a margin of material thickness above the minimum required to resist expected loads. But when corrosion affects electrical connections, it can shift from a reliability concern to a safety issue. Corrosion concentrates at interfaces like bolted connections, weld seams, and cut edges, …

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