PVEL and Heliolytics partner to provide comprehensive testing that mitigates financial losses in solar power plants caused by extreme weather and other force majeure events
SALT LAKE CITY : Two industry-leading providers of field testing for solar power plants, Heliolytics and PV Evolution Labs (PVEL), today announced the launch of their new Incident Response service. Their unique joint offering helps solar asset owners and managers, operations and maintenance providers, investors and insurers prepare for and respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires and other force majeure events.
SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Two industry-leading providers of field testing for solar power plants, Heliolytics and PV Evolution Labs (PVEL), today announced the launch of their new Incident Response service. Their unique joint offering helps solar asset owners and managers, operations and maintenance providers, investors and insurers prepare for and respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires and other force majeure events.
A solar power plant damaged by a tornado. (Source: Heliolytics)
“Natural disasters are on the rise as our climate changes – and so are claims for adversely affected solar projects. To empirically assess the real impact of storms on operating assets and process claims, insurance providers need new tools like Incident Response,” commented George Schulz, Vice President – Clean Energy of Argo Group US, a major provider of insurance products for solar power plants.
Incident Response supports solar PV project stakeholders when natural disasters occur by:
- Quantifying underperformance and mechanical damage caused by the event with aerial testing from Heliolytics and on-the-ground testing from PVEL – both for a pre-event baseline and after the incident occurs.
- Revealing and measuring underlying faults that are not directly observable by eye with advanced thermography and electroluminescence (EL).
- Providing asset owners and investors with the data and hands-on engineering support required to successfully transact on insurance claims and fully address system underperformance.
Testing that goes beyond visual observation is critical when extreme weather and other natural disasters affect a PV asset because damage extends beyond what is immediately visible. Although microcracks in the solar cells of PV modules are not readily apparent, they can create hot spots that will ultimately reduce energy yield and compromise safety. The end results are financial losses and a reduction in the useful life of the solar power plant.
“Together with PVEL, we have observed widespread microcracking from hail and wind even when less than 5% of modules have broken glass. Our advanced aerial visual and thermal imaging provides 100% site coverage, and efficiently identifies regions for targeted on-the-ground EL testing,” commented Rob Andrews, CEO of Heliolytics.
“By working with Heliolytics, we can focus our EL imaging on the impacted areas of power plants to identify individual modules with invisible damage,” noted Jenya Meydbray, CEO of PVEL. “While months or even a few years may pass before cell cracks become hot spots and reduce system performance, it is only a matter of time before this happens.”
About PV Evolution Labs (PVEL)
PVEL is the leading reliability and performance testing lab for downstream solar project developers, financiers, and asset owners and operators around the world. With nearly ten years of experience and accumulated data, PVEL conducts testing that demonstrates solar technology bankability. Its trusted, independent reports replace assumptions about solar equipment performance with data-driven, quantifiable metrics that enable efficient solar project financing and development. The PVEL network connects all major PV and storage manufacturers with 300+ global downstream partners representing 30+ gigawatts of annual buying power. PVEL’s mission is to support the worldwide PV downstream buyer community by generating data that accelerates adoption of solar technology.
About Heliolytics
Heliolytics is the largest global provider of aerial thermal imaging and analysis for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, with 25+ GW serviced across over 2,700 projects globally. Heliolytics leverages innovative imaging, analysis, and reporting services combined with deep sector experience to ensure maximum solar asset performance. Using proprietary aircraft sensor systems and in-house artificial intelligence software, Heliolytics specializes in aerial inspection and analytics of PV systems. As a trusted DC health partner, Heliolytics enables the industry to maximize solar energy production and profitability.
SOURCE PV Evolution Labs (PVEL)
