An exclusive report from The Independent has revealed that the number of solar panel fires has risen sharply in 2023 compared to previous years, leading to mounting concern among fire safety experts.
The data, acquired by the newspaper under freedom of information rules, showed that 66 fires related to solar panels had occurred since the beginning of 2023 up to July. This is a stark increase when compared to 63 fires for the whole of 2019. It was also found that there were “six times the number of fires involving solar panels last year compared with 10 years ago”.
Experts have warned that while the rising number of solar panel-related fires reflects the growing reliance on solar panels as an energy source amidst the cost-of-living crisis, it also highlights the limited regulation around them. As previously reported by the FPA, at the end of last year (November 2022), insurance company Zurich UK issued a caution to homeowners who had invested in solar panels to only use installers who were part of accredited schemes. It even called on the government to introduce a single accreditation scheme to counter the current lack of regulation. At the time, the Major Loss Manager for Zurich, Gillian Perry said: “We’re seeing a small but growing number of claims for solar panels, the most worrying of which are electrical fires.
“While the vast majority of installers follow good practice, poorly or incorrectly fitted solar panels can increase the risk of blazes.”
On 18 September 2023, a major fire related to solar panels broke out at a bungalow in Anglesey. Firefighters from the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended the property fire, which is part of an independent living complex run by Clwyd Alyn Housing, and later confirmed it had been caused by an electrical fault. As reported by North Wales Live, a solar panel and batteries were gutted in the blaze. Head of Technical, Innovation and Climate at Clwyd Alyn, Tom Boome said: “Everyone at the property is safe and we apologise for the worry and inconvenience caused. We believe this is an isolated incident, but as a precaution we have disconnected the batteries in all the homes at Min Yr Afon, while we work with partners to establish the facts.”
Another fire broke out at a council house in West London in August after a solar panel exploded on the roof. As reported by the Evening Standard, 25 firefighters spent two hours disabling the solar panels to avoid being electrocuted before they could extinguish the fire’s source. A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade explained:
“PVStop, which is a black liquid polymer coating designed to cover solar panels like a liquid tarpaulin, was used to isolate power to ten solar panels.
“It works by blocking the sunlight that powers solar panels, so the process of converting light into electricity is stopped. The panels are then de-energised, and the risk of electrocution is greatly reduced so crews can get closer and prevent fire spreading from a roof to the rest of the building.”
Echoing the guidance of other industry sectors, Martyn Allen from Electrical Safety First said that homeowners should look for registered installers of solar PV panels, stating that this would “provide a better guarantee of safety and also redress, in the unlikely event of something going wrong”.
“We also need clarity of electrical safety legislation to ensure that solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are an integral part of obligatory regular inspection and testing,” he added.
Solar power has emerged as a critical renewable energy source, but commercial-scale solar arrays face a little-known fire risk with potentially major financial and environmental impacts. Innovations like PVSTOP seek to make the solar industry safer by containing and suppressing fires that erupt in solar panel systems. This emerging technology promises huge benefits for insurers and owners of large-scale solar PV Systems.
The solar fire challenge
Most people don’t realize that solar panels can literally catch on fire. However, electrical shorts, damaged wiring and extreme weather can all ignite fires within solar arrays on rooftops or in solar farms. These fires spread rapidly, fuelled by the endless DC electricity flowing from solar cells into conductive wiring running throughout the structural mounts.
The results of a solar fire can be devastating. Hundreds of panels worth over a million dollars can be destroyed in minutes. Toxic smoke and run-off from melted plastics and metals contaminates entire sites. Add to this the loss of clean power generation capacity and the financial toll is massive. Insurers are also starting to recognize the extreme risks that solar system fires pose due to the scale of potential damages for commercial installations.
Yet fighting fires within solar panel arrays poses a unique challenge for firefighters. Electrocution hazards from damaged live wiring can prevent spraying water or foam directly onto burning panels. Fires tucked within racks of panels can hide and evade suppression. And systemic issues trigger panel re-ignition even after apparent extinction.
The PVSTOP solution
PVSTOP provides a simple but highly effective innovation to contain, control and mitigate fires within solar panel installations of any size. The product is an advanced polymer film technology that features proprietary chemistry. When deployed over solar panels, PVSTOP immediately blocks light and de-energises the PV system at the source of power production. The film also dissipates heat while sealing electrical components underneath, preventing re-ignition.
For commercial solar array owners, PVSTOP promises three essential benefits:
Quick containment of incidents to minimize solar asset loss.
Reduced clean-up, replacement and environmental remediation costs.
Prevention of major revenue losses by restoring operation faster.
Insurers also benefit by mitigating massive claim pay-outs to commercial solar power customers in the event of fire-related system damages.
Rapid solar fire suppression
A key capability of PVSTOP is delivering extremely fast solar PV system de-energisation. The lightweight polymer film can encapsulate vast sections of solar panels literally within seconds. This blocks the light, dissipates heat and electrical arcing and prevents wider escalation of an incident. Superior rapid response drastically reduces asset losses compared to traditional firefighting tactics.
PVSTOP’s rapid deployment is the key to limiting damages. The polymer coating can be quickly discharged from portable pressure cylinders stored on-site and sprayed over entire rows of solar panels by technicians in a matter of seconds. Other traditional solutions such as fire extinguishers, or mechanical shut-offs simply cannot deliver the same speed and coverage of PVSTOP extinguishment, and none effectively mitigate the electrical risk at the source of power production. Many of these approaches still leave behind badly damaged panels which pose an ongoing secondary fire hazard until the damaged panels are removed and replaced.
Enhancing PVSTOP with early detection
The ultra-fast fire-suppression capability of PVSTOP can be further enhanced by pairing it with solar panel fire-detection innovations. New sensor systems can identify hotspots and electrical anomalies in solar arrays before visible flames erupt. This early warning allows PVSTOP deployment to start even sooner after an ignition incident begins.
One example is infrared monitoring technology that uses cameras to identify heat build-up indicative of smouldering, before smoking or fire breaks out. Other solutions focus on monitoring DC string voltages to detect anomalies that may signal arcing, shorting or ground faults. Incorporating these early alert abilities with PVSTOP provides the maximum possible jump on containment, drastically reducing damage and replacement needs.
Significant damage to commercial, industrial and utility-scale solar assets could be spared by combining early detection with PVSTOP suppression within 3–5 minutes of the initial failure detection. This would represent an enormous benefit over traditional firefighting that cannot safely access live electrical components buried within panel racks until much later in an event. Early warning detection therefore enhances PVSTOP effectiveness and return on investment for solar system owners.
Maximum solar operation continuity
For owners of commercial-scale solar operations like farms or roof-based arrays, continuity of power generation is essential for profitability. PVSTOP delivers major advantage over alternatives by enabling restored system operation in hours or days – not weeks. The film encapsulation rapidly arrests solar panel electrical risk and destruction, so many panels can be reused once the root cause of ignition is addressed. This prevents immense profit losses from extended solar grid shutdowns.
Additionally, PVSTOP suppresses the propagation of solar fires without causing collateral water or chemical damage throughout the installation. This further maximizes reuse of existing solar infrastructure. Some other fire containment tactics like deluge systems or chemical extinguishers make restoring operation more complex due to contamination or soak-through damage to underlying buildings and equipment. The targeted, clean encapsulation approach of PVSTOP keeps unwanted secondary effects to a minimum.
Lower replacement and remediation costs
Even with fire coverage, many commercial solar panel assets end up being complete write-offs after suffering fire, smoke or chemical damage due to the intricacy of the electrical components and precision structural mounts. But PVSTOP radically reduces complete solar asset losses by arresting the spread of flames before entire sections are engulfed. Salvaging even 30–50% of an affected commercial solar power system saves owners immense expense replacing panels, inverters, racking systems and other supporting infrastructure.
Additionally, containing solar PV incidents with PVSTOP prevents massive environmental clean-up bills down the road. Run-off from water or chemical suppressants can contaminate sites for months, accruing major remediation costs. Melted panel components also create toxic waste. Preventing flames from melting through entire solar panel sections minimizes hazardous by-products that must be disposed of properly. And isolating smoke exposure helps avoid soil disturbances or plant die-offs near solar installations. Overall, the damage control PVSTOP facilitates greatly reduces total costs beyond just panel replacement.
Costs of solar fire pollution
While containment clearly reduces direct solar asset losses, limiting the spread of smoke and run-off from solar fires also prevents massive collateral environmental damages. For example, in 2021 a fire at Europe’s largest solar park in the Netherlands contaminated agricultural lands costing millions of euros.
The blaze filled the air with toxic smoke containing dangerous levels of cadmium and lead from melted solar panels. This smoke plume then rained down particles over thousands of acres of nearby cropland and greenhouses. Testing revealed heavy metal concentrations exceeding safe limits, forcing costly disposal of crops and quarantining of grazing lands.
Estimates indicated remediation expenses over €120 million including disposal of 30,000 tons of contaminated plant material, cleaning of fields, and revenue losses for affected farmers. Meanwhile, in Germany, studies have found solar farm fire run-off has triggered extensive contamination of rivers and groundwater with effects still emerging.
With large-scale solar expanding worldwide, more uncontrolled fires could inflict heavy environmental and economic damages like those observed in the Netherlands and Germany. But solutions like PVSTOP that quickly contain solar fires and toxic emissions offer a pathway to prevent these massive collateral impacts.
Insurer perspectives
Major insurance providers have already acknowledged the immense risk solar panel fires now pose at commercial scales. In 2021, losses from U.S. solar fires exceeded $25 million across more than 85 large claims, catching the industry off guard. Swiss Re and others are rapidly adapting coverage terms in response while premiums are expected to rise sharply. But PVSTOP offers a pathway to control losses with this emerging renewable energy peril.
Insurers stand to benefit tremendously from PVSTOP driving down the costs and occurrence frequency of commercial solar fires. Containing rapid site losses better protects insurance reserves while helping avoid untenable premium increases that could choke the solar industry. And the technology unlocks options for new product offerings like PVSTOP deployment discounts which incentivize proactive solar asset fire safety. Overall, supporting innovations like PVSTOP promises to stabilize renewable energy insurance markets through improved fire-control outcomes.
Conclusion
Solar power delivers immense environmental and economic benefits as an emissions-free energy solution. However, realizing the promise of commercial-scale solar requires controlling largely unknown fire risks that can inflict severe financial and operational damages. PVSTOP represents an exciting advancement that perfectly matches the fire challenge faced by the solar industry today. Rapid encapsulation of burning panel sections promises to revolutionize mitigation capabilities for insurers and owners alike. As PVSTOP adoption spreads, solar power can continue flourishing as an essential sustainable energy source for our future.
