The impact of extreme weather has seen an increase of  267% in European hailstorms in the past five years with significant implications for the solar energy industry, currently the fastest growing renewable energy source in the EU.

Achieving the 2030 EU target of at least 42.5% renewable energy by 2030, with an ambition to reach 45%, will require further acceleration in the deployment of renewable energy, including solar energy.

However, hailstorms are the major hazard for solar infrastructure causing severe cracking to the protective glass on the  panels generating the energy. Convective hazards such as large hail, severe wind gusts, tornadoes and heavy rainfall are responsible for high economic damages, fatalities and injuries across Europe.

Standard insurance policies for solar farms often limit coverage to between 10% and 15% of the total insurable value and obtaining  additional insurance to fully protect the solar panels can  be challenging. To obtain insurance coverage, solar farms must often prove that their panels can be positioned at a 70-degree angle to protect against hail and upgrading existing solar farms with remote-controlled tilting capabilities is a significant expenditure.

Data compiled by the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD)  indicates  that the number of hailstorms has jumped 104% to 11,808 storms last year (year-ending June 30th, 2024), up from 5,785 in 2022/23.

In Europe, hailstorms have increased due to climate change, up from 3,217 hailstorms in 2019/20 and the ESWD report revealed European countries, including Italy and Germany are reporting larger hail stones up to 10 cm in diameter. Italy has experienced the largest increase in the frequency of large hail, compared to other European regions with the  town of Azzano Decimo in 2023 producing a 19cm hailstone. The report stated the frequency of hailstorms is caused by rising humidity in the lowest layers of the atmosphere.

In 2023, the EU country with the highest number of large hail reports was France (1502), closely followed by Italy with 1468 reports. However, in terms of the most damaging hailstorms, Italy took the lead with 596 reports of very large, and 67 reports of giant hail.

The rise in the frequency of hailstorms is expected to continue as extreme weather events become more regular around the globe. New technology is being developed to protect solar panels including AI weather-monitoring systems and thicker tempered films that are crack resistant, however, these are currently expensive solutions.

W Denis Europe arrange specialist Natural Catastrophe Peril protection for organisations throughout Europe and the World. This includes both conventional (re)insurance as well as parametric solutions. For more information please contact:

Eastern Europe

Vida.Jarasiunaite@wdenis.eu

Southern Europe

Christos.Hadjisotiris@wdenis.com

Western Europe &/or elsewhere worldwide

Mark.Dutton@wdenis.com