fire safety

A new Clean Energy Associates (CEA) survey shows that 26% of battery storage systems have fire-detection and fire-suppression issues, while about 18% face challenges with thermal management systems.

Researchers have conducted a small-scale experiment on the behavior of smoke in PV-related fires. They have found that in homes featuring rooftops with a pitch of less than 45 degrees, residents only have about four minutes to safely evacuate.

Minimax’s PVProtect system, which is recognized by German insurers, detects solar panel fires and fights them in their early stages.

Genex Power, the owner of a 50 MW/100 MWh battery system that caught fire in the Australian state of Queensland on Sept. 26, says the blaze was triggered by issues on the grid side of the Tesla Megapack battery unit.

Homes and businesses near the Valley Center Energy Storage Facility in California were evacuated this week and a shelter-in-place order was put into effect in the vicinity. Terra-Gen, the project’s owner, has issued a statement saying that the facility’s design systems contained the incident.

Data shows a sharp increase in the number of fires caused by the DC isolators that separate the grid from solar panels. ABC News gathered state-by-state data revealing a dramatic increase in fire incidents in the last 12 months.

A fire occurred broke out this week at a layer poultry farm in Volpago del Montello, Italy. The blaze, which killed more than 20,000 birds, reportedly may have originated from a PV system on the premises.

The adoption of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) has been hindered by the complexity of fire safety standards, creating challenges for manufacturers and suppliers. However, efforts such as the IEA PVPS Task 15 report and collaborative research have shed light on the importance of comprehensive guidelines, reliable testing laboratories, and international cooperation.

A fire broke out on Monday at the 110 MW Beryl Solar Farm in New South Wales, Australia, causing damages that are still being assessed. Emergency services were able to quickly bring the blaze under control and the unaffected areas of the solar farm are now back online.

Norwegian researchers have published a new study showing that the space between solar panels and rooftop surfaces might play a critical role in contributing to PV system fires.