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Storm damage at St. Croix after Hurricane Maria (top) and after Hurricane Fiona (bottom).
The General Services Administration (GSA) contracted with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to investigate damage to five government-owned solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays at GSA buildings in the Caribbean. The PV arrays suffered extensive damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The rebuilding process GSA undertook with its energy service company and engineering firm, Jacobs Engineering, provides helpful lessons learned that can be applied in planning solar PV projects in locations with severe wind and rain events. One of the five sites offered a particularly high-value opportunity for lessons learned due to the innovative rebuilding process utilized by GSA managers and the in-depth analysis performed by the project engineers. Several findings from this analysis are applicable to other arrays across the country.
Inadequate frame stiffness and fastener strength led to failures.
Read the full technical report, Toward Solar Photovoltaic Storm Resilience: Learning from Hurricane Loss and Rebuilding Better.
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