Damaging hailstorms are happening with more frequency in the United States with a single day in mid-March of this year breaking the daily record with 106 hail reports. As of May, the country had already seen 317 storms, with spotters reporting hail larger than 2 inches, just over 50 mm, in diameter. These new record-setting events have severe financial consequences for the solar industry. Recent data shows that despite hail damage representing a mere 1.4% of total claims filed, it accounts for 54% of solar’s loss claims, averaging about $58.4 million each.

In this pv magazine Webinar, together with our guest speakers, Billy Christie, director of engineering center, Trinasolar, Tristan Erion-Lorico, vice president, sales and marketing, Kiwa PVEL and Jon Previtali, senior principal engineer, VDE Americas, we will explore what these increasing weather events mean for the solar industry including the benefits of hail-and-wind-resistant modules from a utility, C&I, community solar perspective, as well as from a residential homeowner and installer perspective. Also discussed will be the technical aspects of the hail modules, third-party testing and certification process and the results, and how Trinasolar’s hail-and-wind-resistant modules will impact the U.S. solar market

pv magazine Webinar content:

• Advanced solar module technology including 620 W modules for utility-scale, C&I, and community solar applications and 445 W for residential systems
• Extensive in-house quality control and mechanical testing, including hail tests.
• Third-party hail-impact analysis for PV modules and modeling the expected annual average loss (AAL) for projects in high, medium, and low hail zones with industry standard modules as well as hail-resistant solutions.
• The 3.2mm/backsheet module models underwent rigorous third-party mechanical testing by leading global authorities RETC and Kiwa PVEL to analyze the module’s reliability and performance

Key takeaways:

• Discover the advantages of 3.2 mm tempered glass and backsheet
• Learn about 3.2 mm modules that better withstand wind and snow loads without overbuilt racking
• Gain insights into the advantages of lighter weight 3.2 mm modules in terms of logistics and shipping as well as installation
• Explore third-party mechanical testing to analyze module reliability and performance
• Delve into third-party hail test results for 3.2 mm/backsheet modules

Questions can be submitted beforehand in the comments window when registering or in the chat during the live webinar. Anne Fischer, senior editor at pv magazine USA, will be the moderator of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine webinar is free of charge.

Speakers

Billy Christie, Director of Engineering Center, Trinasolar

Tristan Erion-Lorico, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Kiwa PVEL

Jon Previtali, Senior Principal Engineer, VDE Americas

Moderators

Anne Fischer | Senior editor, pv magazine USA