SIGforum
Baseball-Size Hail vs. Solar Farm
June 29, 2023, 04:55 PM
TMatsBaseball-Size Hail vs. Solar Farm
This happened in Scottsbluff, Nebraska just a couple of days ago. A meterologist in Cheyenne said that the hailstones at terminal velocity could be approaching 150 mph. Solar is down for awhile, maybe forever.
_______________________________________________________
despite them
June 29, 2023, 05:00 PM
stoic-onequote:
Baseball-sized hail took out a solar farm in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on Friday.
The hail shattered most of the panels on the 5.2-megawatt solar project, sparing an odd panel like missing teeth in a white smile.
Wyoming has only one commercial-scale solar farm, but a second project is under construction south of Cheyenne.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ranks this area in its the highest category for hail risk on the national index.
Don Day, Cowboy State Daily meteorologist, said the hail would have reached terminal velocity during its descent, which is the maximum speed an object will reach when falling. The hail would have likely struck the panels going 100 to 150 mph.
Looks Destroyed
The entire region has experienced strong storms the past week, which included tornadoes, hail, heavy rains and wind.
A tornado destroyed at least one home in Scottsbluff. Much of the damage to the area was from high winds and hail, which brought down power lines, damaged trees and shattered windshields.
Kevin Spencer, Scottsbluff city manager, told Cowboy State Daily the Nebraska Public Power District, which owns the solar farm, is still assessing the damage, but it’s going to need some repairs.
“Just by looking at it, it looks destroyed to me,” Spencer said.
Spencer said there’s more to a solar farm than just the panels, and so some of the equipment at the farm might have survived the storm. He said he was previously told the panels were hail proof, but that might have meant hail up to a certain size.
June 29, 2023, 05:01 PM
tatortoddFrom what I've read, a lot of those solar facilities are on leased land (e.g. 20+ year lease), and a lot of these solar companies are forming a LLC for each solar facility.
Hope the landowner made the leasee (i.e. solar company) put money in escrow for dismantle, remove, and remediate. Otherwise, the LLC is likely to declare bankruptcy and leave that shattered mess.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. June 29, 2023, 05:11 PM
honestlouThey should have used acrylic.
Acrylic, acrylic, acrylic.
June 29, 2023, 05:12 PM
229DAKToo bad they don't have the means to move them temporarily into a vertical position in cases like this.
_________________________________________________________________________
“A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.”
-- Mark Twain, 1902
June 29, 2023, 05:39 PM
Johnny 3eaglesTransparent Aluminum.
If you're goin' through hell, keep on going.
Don't slow down. If you're scared don't show it.
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there.
NRA ENDOWMENT LIFE MEMBER
June 30, 2023, 12:00 AM
OcCurtWhy in the hell would you build a solar farm in Nebraska in the first place? I hear Arizona is very sunny and hardly ever gets hail.
June 30, 2023, 08:11 AM
Expert308quote:
Originally posted by OcCurt:
Why in the hell would you build a solar farm in Nebraska in the first place? I hear Arizona is very sunny and hardly ever gets hail.
It's how local politicians say "See? I'm green too!" I imagine they probably have one or two in Arizona. There's a big one a few miles up the highway from my new home here too. We've had a few thunderstorms, but no hail (`course, I've only been here a few months so far...)
June 30, 2023, 08:16 AM
RightwireSomeone(s) will definitely be seeing green, a different type of green.
I point at things like this and ask people "You really think it's smart to have ALL electric production based on this technology do you?". There is a reason our current power generating plants are not weather dependent.
Pronoun: His Royal Highness and benevolent Majesty of all he surveys
343 - Never Forget
Its better to be Pavlov's dog than Schrodinger's cat
There are three types of mistakes; Those you learn from, those you suffer from, and those you don't survive. June 30, 2023, 08:18 AM
HRKquote:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ranks this area in its the highest category for hail risk on the national index.
And yet, lets build one in Nebraska.....
quote:
Originally posted by Expert308:
quote:
Originally posted by OcCurt:
Why in the hell would you build a solar farm in Nebraska in the first place? I hear Arizona is very sunny and hardly ever gets hail.
It's how local politicians say "See? I'm green too!" I imagine they probably have one or two in Arizona. There's a big one a few miles up the highway from my new home here too. We've had a few thunderstorms, but no hail (`course, I've only been here a few months so far...)
Federal funds - build it and you get money, to pay local contractors (supposedly) create jobs, create green energy, look good in the papers....
June 30, 2023, 08:57 AM
x0225095quote:
Originally posted by honestlou:
They should have used acrylic.
Acrylic, acrylic, acrylic.
LoL
Good one. Pretty transparent joke though.
0:01
June 30, 2023, 09:01 AM
erj_pilotquote:
Originally posted by stoic-one:
The hail shattered most of the panels on the 5.2-megawatt…
GREAT SCOTT!!
quote:
Originally posted by x0225095:
quote:
Originally posted by honestlou:
They should have used acrylic.
Acrylic, acrylic, acrylic.
LoL
Good one. Pretty transparent joke though.
"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24 June 30, 2023, 09:06 AM
6gunsJust one more downfall of "green" energy.
SIGforum: For all your needs!
Imagine our influence if every gun owner in America was an NRA member! Click the box>>>
June 30, 2023, 09:46 AM
myrottietyAnyone know how old the istallation is? My understanding is the more modern ones are quite hardy compared to the old style panels. Much more resistant to hail strikes.
Train how you intend to Fight
Remember - Training is not sparring. Sparring is not fighting. Fighting is not combat. June 30, 2023, 02:01 PM
HRKIt's amazing to see that some panels suffered no hits, right between others that were pummeled
June 30, 2023, 02:10 PM
TMatsquote:
Originally posted by myrottiety:
Anyone know how old the istallation is? My understanding is the more modern ones are quite hardy compared to the old style panels. Much more resistant to hail strikes.
I don’t know the age of it, but it seems to me that baseball-size hail might be pretty tough on even “space-age plastics.”
_______________________________________________________
despite them
June 30, 2023, 02:12 PM
RogueJSKquote:
Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Transparent Aluminum.
Great idea. We just need to ask Scotty for the formula.
July 01, 2023, 01:36 AM
Excam_ManThat'll buff right out with a headlight lense restoration kit.
July 01, 2023, 01:44 AM
tatortoddquote:
Originally posted by Expert308:
quote:
Originally posted by OcCurt:
Why in the hell would you build a solar farm in Nebraska in the first place? I hear Arizona is very sunny and hardly ever gets hail.
It's how local politicians say "See? I'm green too!" I imagine they probably have one or two in Arizona. There's a big one a few miles up the highway from my new home here too. We've had a few thunderstorms, but no hail (`course, I've only been here a few months so far...)
They're long-term leasing prime farmland along existing powerlines all over the country. Even places like Upstate NY which has long winters (i.e. not a lot of sun).
How local politicians say "See? I'm green too!" is with grants, ridiculous tax breaks, publicly subsidized low interest loans, etc. to these solar companies.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.