Commercial businesses are increasingly developing on-site solar energy as a cost-effective and sustainable way of powering their operations. According to the recent Solar Means Business report from the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), as of the end of 2019, there are over 8,000 MW of commercial solar installed across 38,000 sites in the United States. In fact, 2019 was the largest year ever for on-site commercial solar installations.

PV Solar Electrical Systems Pose Fire Risks

As Fortune 500 retailers continue to pursue more ambitious clean energy goals, this market will only continue to grow. The rooftops of big-box retailers remain an emerging market for PV solar. However, if these new electrical systems are not managed and/or installed correctly, they can pose a significant fire risk. Clean Energy Associates (CEA) is an essential industry partner in managing and mitigating many of the inherent risks of deploying rooftop solar at scale. 

Through the course of our work, CEA has identified numerous safety and technical problems that when not properly addressed can result in even de-energized systems catching fire. This includes a recent inspection that identified multiple connectors with elevated temperatures, including two connectors with temperatures over 100°C. These systems were immediately de-energized and a likely fire was avoided. 

When improperly installed and/or managed, these systems can catch fire and force the retailers to preemptively de-energize all of their rooftop solar systems as a precaution.

Identify and Mitigate Risks to Your Rooftop Solar Systems

CEA serves as a solar and storage technical advisor for multiple Fortune 500 retailers, helping them identify and mitigate risks in addition to fires, across thousands of rooftop solar systems. Through this work CEA is remediating scores of faulty PV systems and safely re-energizing projects, developing new safety and O&M data collection tools, and creating a culture focused on safety and world-class O&M practices.

Leading Fortune 500 retailers will increasingly invest in solar out of a growing commitment to sustainability and reducing overall energy costs. In recent years, this includes the additional risk of adding battery energy storage for reliability to new and existing energy systems.

CEA continues to work collaboratively to investigate and mitigate fires related to rooftop PV and energy storage installations and assist with safely de-energizing and re-energizing these projects.

Do you know if your system is at risk? Contact CEA today.