| Solar power
Short-term predictions: machine-learning- aided systems for generating accurate warnings minutes or hours before impact. Together, this information provides a “weather- aware” solar operation.
While fixed-point anemometers can only record what has actually arrived, scanning lidar systems can “see” the wind’s behaviour before it strikes. Lidar instruments can track airflows in three dimensions, over an entire solar field, with a lead time of up to 20 minutes.
But advanced forecasting isn’t just for wind. New modelling indicates that tilting solar panels 60 degrees during a hailstorm can reduce the impact of large hail by up to 90%. That’s why more developers increasingly pair forecast data with automated stow procedures, equipping systems to act instantly without waiting for manual commands.
Combined with robust historical data, this intelligence can also guide the choice of ideal project sites —favouring wind- and hail-safe zones — and equipment selection. Foresight from remote sensing foresight equips decision-makers deciding on stowing heliostats, how much to tilt panels during hail or how to initiate a shutdown procedure. Take RayGen, an Australian renewable energy technology company, for example.
A real-world application: RayGen’s smart stowing approach RayGen implemented a proactive weather monitoring strategy in Australia at its Carwarp solar farm. The 4 MW PV and 2.8 MW/50 MWh storage
facility uses heliostats that focus the sun onto proprietary high-efficiency PV panels, a scheme that can take several minutes to stow safely. To avoid damaging gusts, RayGen incorporated the Vaisala WindCube Scan wind lidar system to detect wind patterns before they hit. Now, operators visualise wind activity as 3D vectors moving toward the site, giving them critical lead time to safeguard equipment while reducing unnecessary downtime.
The outcome? Fewer stows. Reduced damage. Maximised uptime. RayGen’s Carwarp PV plant offers a concrete demonstration of how proactive weather insight can help enhance weather resilience and future-proof solar investments.
The financial case for resilience Investing in weather intelligence is not merely a technical decision but a strategic one. Insurers are offering better terms to sites that demonstrate real-time mitigation strategies. Investors want assurance that dealing with weather risk goes beyond modelling to include actual management. And operators that minimise damage and downtime maintain power purchase agreements and preserve trust.
O&M strategies also benefit. Better forecasting allows crews to plan service during calm periods, avoid unnecessary site visits, and extend equipment life through smarter deployment. In short, boosting the solar sector’s weather resilience pays off. But what does a climate-ready solar strategy really look like?
It begins with embedding weather intelligence at every phase of the project life cycle:
Planning and design: use historical and forecast data to select optimal locations, determine ideal tilt angles and design tracker systems that can stow quickly and reliably.
Construction: choose materials and mounting systems tailored to local risks, like higher wind loads or hail-resistant glazing. Operations: pair real-time sensing with automation to enable precise stowing and intelligent asset monitoring. Renewal or repowering: reassess risk with updated models and climate data, making resilience a part of future investment. The weather-resilient approach creates a virtuous cycle: better data feeds better forecasts, which drive more intelligent decisions, protect long-term value and generate more data for continuous improvement.
Constructing a solar industry that endures
Climate change is no longer a future problem — it’s here, reshaping our present. And as renewable infrastructure expands, solar is too vital to be left exposed. The good news? It doesn’t have to be.
With advanced weather intelligence, the solar sector can move from reactive to resilient, designing systems that survive and thrive through extremes — solutions that prove clean energy isn’t just efficient but enduring.
Because in this new energy era, resilience will soon move from a nice-to-have luxury to a competitive necessity.
PV shines bright in first half of 2025
Global solar installations are on track for another record year, according to energy think tank Ember. In the first six months of 2025, the world added 380 GW of new solar capacity — 64% higher than during the same period in 2024, when 232 GW was installed. In 2024, it took until September for global solar capacity additions to surpass 350 GW, while in 2025, that milestone was reached in June.
600
The rapid expansion of solar capacity in recent years has made it the fastest growing source of new electricity generation, Ember notes. In 2024, global solar output rose by 28% (+469 TWh) compared to 2023, more than any other power source. China remains the global leader of this surge. In the first half of 2025, China added an astonishing 256 GW, more than twice as much
2024 2023 400 2025 200
2022 2021
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
solar capacity as the rest of the world combined, accounting for 67% of the global total. This growth was spurred in part by developers racing to complete projects before new rules on wind and solar compensation came into effect in June this year. While this may lead to a slowdown in the second half of the year, says Ember, “new clean power procurement requirements for industry and higher full-year deployment expectations from China’s solar PV association (CPIA) suggest that 2025 will surpass 2024’s record high installations.” Outside China, all other countries installed an estimated total of 124 GW in the first half of 2025 — 15% higher than the first half of 2024. India recorded the second highest capacity addition (after China) in H1- 2025, at 24 GW, a 49% increase over the already strong 16 GW added in H1-2024. The United States ranked third with 21 GW, up 4% year-on-year, despite recent moves by the US government to restrict clean power deployment. Deployment dipped slightly in Germany and Brazil. The remaining countries added a total of 65 GW in H1-2025, 22% more than in H1-2024.
Global solar capacity additions, cumulative by year (GW). Source: Ember
Growth in Africa is also beginning to take-off, with the amount of solar panels it imported from China increasing by an estimated 60% in the last 12 months, as Ember has previously reported.
www.modernpowersystems.com | September 2025 | 43
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