SOLAR UNDER STORM

The report analyzes the failure and survival of solar PV systems during Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean to establish design and specification standards for high-wind environments. It identifies root causes of failure—such as undersized racking, inadequate bolting, and the use of T-clamps—and recommends high-load modules, through-bolting, and dual-post foundations. The authors advise against using trackers in Category 4 or higher wind zones and emphasize the need for site-specific structural engineering and collaboration between stakeholders and suppliers to develop Category 5-resistant hardware.

• Analysis of the 2017 hurricane season revealed that while some solar PV systems in the British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, and St. Eustatius survived winds over 180 miles per hour, others in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Barbuda suffered complete failure.
• Common root causes for the failure of solar PV systems during Hurricanes Irma and Maria included the use of top-down or T-clamps, undersized or poorly designed racking (particularly regarding lateral support), undersized or under-torqued bolts, and the use of self-tapping screws instead of through-bolting.
• Surviving ground-mount systems typically shared specific attributes, including the use of dual post piers, through-bolting of modules (avoiding T-clamps), lateral racking supports, vibration-resistant connections like Nylocs, and the presence of an owner's engineer of record with a QA/QC program.
• The report recommends specific technical specifications for resilient plants, including the use of high-load PV modules (up to 5,400 Pa uplift), structural engineering according to ASCE 7, and the avoidance of trackers in Category 4 or higher wind zones.
• To prevent foundation failure and overturning moments, the authors recommend specifying dual post fixed tilt ground mounts and low tilt angles to reduce peak module pressures.
• The report identifies critical weaknesses in electrical balance of systems, noting that lateral loads from hardware like combiner boxes attached to end posts can lead to failure, and recommends NEMA 4X to 6P (or IP56 to IP67) enclosures to prevent rain intrusion during sideways hurricane winds.
• The authors call for industry-wide collaboration to develop and test hardware capable of withstanding Category 5 hurricane winds, including static and dynamic load tests for modules and full-scale connection tests for racking.

APA

BURGESS, C., & GOODMAN, J. (2018). SOLAR UNDER STORM. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Solar_Under_Storm_Part_One.pdf

Chicago

BURGESS, CHRISTOPHER, and JOSEPH GOODMAN. SOLAR UNDER STORM. RMI, 2018. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Solar_Under_Storm_Part_One.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BURGESS |first1=CHRISTOPHER |last2=GOODMAN |first2=JOSEPH |title=SOLAR UNDER STORM |publisher=RMI |date=June 2018 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Solar_Under_Storm_Part_One.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{burgess2018solar, author = {BURGESS, CHRISTOPHER and GOODMAN, JOSEPH}, title = {{SOLAR UNDER STORM}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Solar_Under_Storm_Part_One.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }