NLR’s PVade (Photovoltaic Aerodynamic Design Engineering) software simulates wind loading, structural deformation, and stability phenomena in solar-tracking photovoltaic (PV) systems.
PVade can help identify strategies for maximizing stability and reducing loads to reduce degradation and increase system lifetime.
The software suite can be accessed via a GitHub repo.
High wind speeds and extreme weather events can initialize cracks in PV cells and glass, potentially necessitating the replacement of entire sections of an array. Even modest wind speeds can create buffeting pressure forces and reversing loads on the panel surface leading to the worsening of existing cracks over time. Both of these effects are exacerbated by current trends in PV installations, which are moving toward larger, thinner modules which catch more wind and experience larger deformation. Understanding how these dynamic wind loads and unsteady pressures are associated with panel degradation and failure will enable researchers to predict degradation and reduced power output.
Predicting Wind Loading and Instability in Solar Tracking PV Arrays, NLR Presentation (2023)
Ethan Young
Researcher IV—Computational Science
[email protected]
303-275-3768
Walid Arsalane
Researcher II—Computational Science
[email protected]
303-630-5491
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Last Updated Dec. 7, 2025
The National Laboratory of the Rockies is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, operated under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308.

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