US-based climate insurance provider kWh Analytics has launched a new renewable energy insurance cover for severe storm events.
The new climate insurance solution, called Excess Natural Catastrophe, addresses the growing need for severe convective storm protection in the renewable energy market.
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The Excess Natural Catastrophe layer will provide up to US$20 million in additional capacity specifically covering damages from severe convective storms and named windstorms in non-coastal regions. This new offering will complement kWh Analytics’ existing property capacity.
“Our loss database reveals that hail accounts for 73% of total solar industry losses by damage amount,” said Jason Kaminsky, CEO of kWh Analytics.
“We’re addressing a critical market gap with this specialised excess layer solution.”
A recent report from the company highlighted that the financial impact of severe hailstorms on solar PV arrays was “disproportionately severe” for the frequency with which they occur. Module selection is a key element in avoiding glass breakage from hail damage, as most damages come from solar module glass breakage.
The report also covers other issues such as cybersecurity, AI and solar asset underperformance for which PV Tech Premium spoke with Geoffrey Lehv, senior VP of kWh Analytics, in more detail.
Hailstorms are one of the extreme weather conditions with the potential to cause significant damage to a solar PV plant. However, utility-scale solar assets in the US are “dramatically underprepared” for severe hailstorms. This was one of the findings from technical advisory firm VDE Americas earlier this year when the company launched its new Hail Risk Intelligence monitoring programme.
Mitigating hail risks and how to better protect a solar PV plant were among the cover stories of PV Tech Power 37, which looked at the resilience of PV systems when facing extreme weather events.
