The following information comes from multiple news reports about fires involving Solar Projects.
You can follow the links at the bottom of the page to the original stories. We are simply listing some of the highlights below.
"Susan Nichols lives one-tenth of a mile from a solar farm in the Jefferson County town of Lyme that saw its battery storage area catch fire Thursday.
It’s been five days of wondering what’s in her air and in her water, and she’s concerned.
“Basically [I fear] it’s in our well. Once it’s in our well, you’re not going to get it out,” Nichols said."
"The US Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office cited a study conducted by European testing and certification company TÜV Rheinland, titled Assessing Fire Risks in Photovoltaic Systems and Developing Safety Concepts for Risk Minimization. The study found that in approximately half of 430 cases of fire or heat damage in photovoltaic (PV) systems, the PV system itself was considered the “cause or probable cause."
"A recent report by Firetrace International found that the solar industry is potentially underestimating the risk of fire at solar farms, partly due to a shortage of data on solar farm fires. The report also said that research into the issue has given rise to suspicions that fires at solar farms have been under-reported."
“With the expected exponential growth of renewable energy as well as aging infrastructure, the number of fire occurrences will only increase. One thing that operators tend to overlook is addressing these fire risks with fire mitigation strategies. Often, owners will simply rely on their insurance provider to cover a loss, if that does occur, rather than implementing the likes of fire suppression technology.”
"Some Solar farm fires result in losses which encompass the entire solar farm with the potential to spread and endanger surrounding communities."
"After local firefighters recently spent 24 hours dealing with a fire, N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered a special task force to be established to collaborate with first responders to better understand the safety aspects of these energy farms."
Read more at: https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/risk-management/news/fire-a-major-hidden-danger-for-solar-farms-
Here is one example of a fire worth reading. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/public-safety/2023/08/01/jefferson-county-solar-farm-battery-fire