Japan’s National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) says
in a new report that snow has damaged 43 PV installations of
different sizes over the past four years. It urges PV system owners
to conduct regular site inspections, use surveillance cameras, and
remove snow at early stages.
Image: MITE
In its latest study,
NITE attributes rising reports of snow-related damages in residential
PV systems to heavy
storms in the country's Tohoku and Hokkaido regions in recent years.
“The
damage caused to PV systems by snowfall
over the four years is equivalent to the power output of
residential solar panels for approximately 75,000 households,” NITE
said, noting that the combined capacity of the affected systems is
approximately 30 MW.
NITE recorded 43 cases of snow and ice-related accidents in
residential PV systems between 2018 and 2021. It said that the accidents
often involved damage to the module frames. NITE noted that in some
cases, the systems were deployed at a tilt angle of less than 0.6
degrees, which makes it more difficult for snow to slide off the
panels.
The institute urges PV system owners to conduct regular site
inspections, use surveillance cameras, and implement snow removal at
early stages. They also suggest the creation of snow
removal plans.
“Creating a budget
for snow removal may be a good move before project planning,” said
NITE, which was presented much of itsdata
in an open-access
database.
In 2021, scientists at the University of Alberta in Canada presented a
new set of parameters to improve short-term models to forecast the impact
of snow on PV installations. The parameters include the warming
effect of irradiance on the backs of panels, thermal capacity, and
irradiance through snow.
