DNV has launched a service to provide photovoltaic (PV) developers with actionable, verified assessments of large hail risk across North America.

The company has partnered with Jupiter Intelligence which specialises in climate risk analytics to offer a robust statistical approach to evaluating hail risk due to climate change, both today and in the future.

“Ironically, solar development is now threatened by climate change, the thing it is meant to mitigate, by enabling a transition to clean energy generation,” DNV Energy Systems North America regional president Richard S Barnes says.

“Understanding and mitigating risks from hailstorms with both technical and financial means will enable the solar industry to continue its current trajectory and take its place as a major source of energy in the future.”

Extreme hail events have caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage at PV projects in North America, even in areas historically less prone to hailstorms. DNV’s service aims to help the solar industry understand actual hail risk now and throughout project lifetimes, up to 30 years into the future.

It will provide the probability of a hail event for a specific location within the contiguous US and the probability of the size of the hail itself, enabling project owners and developers to better anticipate and mitigate risks to their projects.