How and why the solar industry must safeguard assets from fire risks
By Ross Paznokas, global business development manager, clean energy, Firetrace International
Climate change and the higher frequency of adverse weather events, alongside issues with dependence on other countries for energy imports, highlighted by Russia’s war on Ukraine, are prompting governments to ramp up the production of domestic green energy.
In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been set up to finance green power installations with a rollout of infrastructure that will dramatically boost the renewable energy supply. Still, this growth could be tempered by tariffs and other trade actions that hold up foreign module imports.
If there are to be delays to new developments as a result of issues in the solar module market, it is critical to safeguard the capacity we already have in place. Risks associated with solar energy production, such as the risk of fire, must be taken more seriously.
Solar asset fire risks
The risk of fire on solar assets is largely underestimated. Solar system fires more than doubled between 2015 and 2018, as reported by the U.S. Fire Administration. Identified sources of fire in a BRE National Solar Study Report included poorly designed or constructed products and poor installation practices. But the greatest fire risk identified was incorrectly specified DC isolators — representing a third of solar fire instances.
When a fire incident does occur, the impact can be extensive. One particularly underestimated risk is that of wildfire — the possibility of a fire on an asset spreading to other assets and into the local environment. Dry weather can create the perfect conditions for a fire to spread, with the potential to cause billions of dollars in financial damage and significant reputational damage. It is not a risk to be overlooked.
Another consideration for asset managers is the impact of a hardening renewable energy insurance market, which could prompt a shift toward insurers covering asset damage, but not lost revenue as a result of business interruption due to asset downtime. Considering that the average downtime of an asset after a fire is 12 to 18 months, this could represent a significant financial loss as a result of lost revenue.
At a time when the priority is to develop and produce as much solar energy as possible, we need to be able to rely on maximum production from existing solar farms. A fire detection and suppression system has to be in place for operators to protect their personnel and their assets and avoid rising insurance costs.
Protecting solar projects from fire
Ideally, as we collect more and more data about solar farm fires, improvements can be made from the very start, with the inclusion of a fire risk assessment at design stage.
But, for assets already deployed and operational, Fire Risk Assessments (FRA) must become mandatory. The fire risk assessment of a solar farm can identify potential fire-related hazards and suggest the solutions needed to eliminate as many risks as possible. Such an assessment will support the education of the O&M team on the causes of fire ignition and help prevent risks through routine operations and maintenance and taking a proactive stance on the integration of fire detection and suppression.
But, if a fire does ignite, preventing its growth is key to risk reduction and limiting damage. Firetrace’s detection and suppression system can detect a fire quickly and suppress it immediately, without any human intervention, preventing it from growing and spreading to other assets, the surrounding environment, wildlife or impacting human lives. The technology allows for localized action thanks to its proprietary Fire Detection Tubing system, which discharges the clean agent at the source of the fire. By installing this technology on all solar assets, operators can ensure that there will be limited damage thus reducing time and cost of repair as well as lost earnings as a result of downtime.
As the country prepares for rapid solar power capacity growth, emphasis must be placed on the effective operation and production of existing solar assets — as well as the speed of new developments — to enable solar power to make up the largest percentage of energy possible now, and in the future. Reducing risks is key to this mission.