kWh Analytics

We're getting excited for Solarplaza Asset Management North America 2025! Nicole Thompson will be joining the 'Preparing for the Unpredictable' panel to discuss mitigating the risk of natural catastrophes on renewable energy assets, with GroundWork Renewables, VDE Americas, Cleanleaf Energy, and Nextracker Inc. More details here: https://bit.ly/4gbmYhS If you'll be joining us at Solarplaza on April 23-24 in San Diego, feel free to use code AMNA25KWHANALYTICS20 for a discount on registration!

With land availability tightening, solar projects are moving to the water. FPV is revolutionizing how we generate renewable energy, offering efficiency gains and environmental benefits. Read the analysis on this asset class, including insurance considerations, co-authored by WTW and Ciel & Terre International https://lnkd.in/gRMDehMh

The U.S. installed nearly 50 GW of new renewable capacity in 2024, shattering records according to the American Clean Power Association. Solarplaza has put together a nice list of the industry's largest asset owners who are driving the energy transition forward ?? Check it out here: https://bit.ly/3EDKCGH If you'll be joining us at the Solarplaza Asset Management North America conference, April 23-24 in San Diego, feel free to use this code AMNA25KWHANALYTICS20 for a discount on registration

We have seen reports of potential disruptions at NOAA / NWS - including radars going down and weather balloons that are not being launched. Many renewable energy farms rely on this data for operational excellence: for example, every hail alert of which I'm aware uses NOAA / NWS data in some way, shape, or form. Although it looks like these events are not currently leading to data gaps, changes within NOAA may impact utility-scale solar assets' ability to weather storms. Here are the key factors we're paying attention to: - Staffing Shortages: NOAA's staffing cuts are affecting National Weather Service offices and radar operations nationwide, potentially impacting the reliability of weather alerts. - Radar Operations Center: The Radar Operations Center in Norman, OK - responsible for centralized support, maintenance, and engineering for all radar stations nationwide - may be impacted by lease terminations, which could affect radar support services. - Weather Data Disruptions: Broader weather forecasts, including convective outlooks from the SPC, rely on radar and weather balloon data. NWS is already suspending some weather balloon launches in New York, Maine, and Alaska due to staffing shortages, according to recent NWS public statements. Solar asset owners should pay attention to these issues, as they could impact the reliability of weather data for decisions like stowing panels. Now is a good time to start developing contingency plans - are there backup data sources, even if lower fidelity? How will your commercial vendor handle data gaps (e.g., do hail alerts still come through or is the data null)? How do your SOPs need to change? Here are the main resources we are monitoring for any disruptions in NWS services: - WSR-88D Radar Network Status: https://lnkd.in/gqpjfZnx - NWS Notifications on Service Suspensions: https://lnkd.in/g9gKNYXu - NOAA Weather Radio Outages (broadcasts severe weather warnings, watches, and advisories): https://lnkd.in/gbWb3H2X - NOAA Radar Data Map: https://lnkd.in/gxqXjnkR

Our colleague Nicole Thompson participated on the first-ever insurance panel at NREL's PV Reliability Workshop last week. This panel's inclusion tells how critical insurance has become to the solar industry and I know it's a topic on a lot of developers' minds. I wanted to share some quick insights from the panel: Nicole shared an analysis of how specific resilience measures affect damage ratios and ultimately insurance premium. 70% of solar insurance losses by dollar value come from hail damage, but resilience investments should be rewarded. She explained how risk models can incorporate stow angles, testing documentation, and historical stow logs to create fairer, site-specific premiums. Lauren Carroll-Allan, ARM from CAC Specialty noted that insurance premiums have increased approximately 9x over the past decade (from ~4￠ to ~35￠ per $100 of value). Natural catastrophe events (think hail, hurricane, flood, wildfire) are only getting more frequent and severe, so without proper risk mitigation, projects are going to become uninsurable. Michael Perron from FM and Sandy Calvert from Moore-McNeil jointly shared a case study, where in a sample of hail damage events, 50% of damaged sites hadn't stowed at all. The industry still has room for improvement in operational protocols alongside hardware advancements. This is what makes PVRW so valuable - you get researchers, manufacturers, insurers, and operators all in the same room and talking to each other (and guys like Nick de Vries moderating). The technical innovations driving solar forward only work if they can be insured and financed for the long haul.

Insurance carriers are taking notice of resilience. Projects that prove resilience aren’t JUST reducing losses—they’re securing better coverage, lower premiums, and long-term stability. With insurers tightening requirements, developers who fail to plan ahead may face rising costs—or no coverage at all. Our own Bobby McFadden, breaks down the Real Cost of Resiliency for solar installations with Brian Fitzgerald and Alex Morris from WTW Learn why resilience is now a competitive advantage. ?? https://lnkd.in/dPmY-BXE

New year, new look! We're thrilled to unveil our refreshed visual identity, including a new logo, icon, and redesigned company website. This update reflects our strategic shift as we've evolved from our roots in solar data analytics to underwriting the energy transition. The four distinctive panels in our logo evoke the structure of monocrystalline solar cells, paying homage to our origins while embracing our expanded role serving the Solar, BESS, and Wind sectors. Visit our website to explore our updated resources for asset owners, brokers, carriers, and the renewable energy ecosystem. Check it out: kwhanalytics.com

The PV Reliability Workshop, hosted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is always one of the most thoughtful and insightful gatherings of the year, where the industry's brightest minds come together to discuss the bleeding-edge in solar. The kWh Analytics team will be there in force once again - we're sending some of our data scientists, engineers, underwriters, and ops team members to present our latest research on reliability, AI ,and risk modeling. This year will also be the first time there is a panel on insurance at PVRW. Our head of Data Science, Property, Nicole Thompson, will be presenting on how carriers model natural catastrophe risk on Wednesday, March 5th! ????March 4-6 ???Golden, Colorado Connect with the team: Nicole Thompson Charity Faith Sotero Reilly Fagan Hannah Rasmussen Adam Shinn Michael Mousou Phoebe Hwang Geoffrey Lehv Nikky Venkataraman Elizabeth Henthorn Darryl C. Harding

kWh Analytics is proud to be a part of the 2025 Solarplaza Advisory Board for Asset Management North America! As solar projects scale, expert voices in resilience, data-driven risk management, and financial security are more important than ever, and Solarplaza remains offers a great opportunity to bring these voices together. The conference is happening April 23-24 in San Diego. https://bit.ly/4gbmYhS We hope to see you there - make sure to use code AMNA25KWHANALYTICS20 for 20% off registration.

Every dollar invested in resilience matters. From vegetation management to geographic insights, we help solar, wind, and battery asset owners protect their investments. We’re pushing the industry forward with risk transfer solutions that reward smart, proactive measures. Our microcracking endorsement makes it easy to replace a string of modules after a hail event without the need for expensive tests. Find out how: https://loom.ly/P1PWJ3g