NZ Weather Forum

If the hailstones were of the "Gorilla" type, the damage would be more severe.

Love this bit -

Bloomberg suspects that high winds drove large hailstones into the Scottsbluff panels, which exceeded their hail resistance limits.

Really!! Hail falling straight down would do just as much damage as a stone driven on a slight angle, after all a stone of that size is hardly likely to be effected much in its free fall by wind given its weight.
This is clearly a case of the manufacturers cutting corners, corruption. We are seeing this elsewhere in this so called green movement, like the 1000's of new fully registered electric cars abandoned in paddocks in China just to claim subsidies.

Richard wrote: ↑Sat 01/07/2023 09:42 Love this bit -

Bloomberg suspects that high winds drove large hailstones into the Scottsbluff panels, which exceeded their hail resistance limits.

Really!! Hail falling straight down would do just as much damage as a stone driven on a slight angle, after all a stone of that size is hardly likely to be effected much in its free fall by wind given its weight.

I think they were likely referring the strong downdrafts often associated with thunderstorms. They mention a 'terminal velocity' of 240 km/h - the maximum speed an object will reach when falling due to air friction. However, if that object was accompanied by a strong downdraft of say 200 km/h, this would substantially reduce the amount of air friction around the object, allowing it to fall much faster. That lack of friction may also reduce the normal surface smoothing of what may have originally been a more jagged composite type of hailstone, making it more damaging than a smooth hailstone. So probably more a case of the solar panel's design limits being exceeded, rather than 'manufacturers cutting corners'. Having said that, you'd think that creating a solar farm in the middle of the US's hail capital is just asking for trouble.

Good point Nev, but I think there is diffidently inconsistency in the manufacturing when you have one 100% undamaged panel next to a totaled panel. If it was down to the speed and shape of the stone the damage would be far more evenly spread.