World leaders are counting on the U.S. to do its part to mitigate a global climate crisis—and the U.S. cannot achieve its climate-risk mitigation goals without Texas solar. Whether these efforts succeed could hinge on the solar industry’s ability to weather West Texas hailstorms.

Since 2015, insured solar project losses associated with extreme weather events are roughly twice the magnitude of those stemming from natural catastrophes. Viewed as a learning opportunity for project stakeholders, this breakdown of weather-related losses is enlightening.

In May 2019, hail damaged some 400,000 modules at the Midway Solar generating facility in West Texas, resulting in a previously unimaginable $80 million in insured losses. Recognizing that basic certification test standards are inadequate to identify and quantify the project risks associated with hail, RETC developed its innovative Hail Durability Test (HDT) program.

The solar boom in Texas illustrates the extreme highs and lows of life on the solarcoaster. Based on its sheer size and average sun hours, Texas is blessed with the nation’s best solar resource—it is also bedeviled by extreme weather risks that necessitate enhanced product testing protocols.