Hurricanes Milton and Helene knocked out power for millions of customers and devastated electric infrastructure in the southeast United States, but there’s a silver lining in the resiliency of some solar systems.
Residential solar and storage company Sunnova reports 98% of its rooftop solar installations were unaffected by the two recent storms, and D3Energy says its floating solar arrays in Florida sustained no damage from Milton.
According to Sunnova, systems remained intact for about 19,000 customers in Florida during Hurricane Milton and more than 13,000 customers across the southeast during Hurricane Helene, even when power infrastructure was knocked out and unable to deliver electricity to residents.
While many were without power in the seven days after Hurricane Milton’s landfall, Sunnova solar + storage customers in its wake benefitted from battery power for an average of 25 hours; an average of 26 hours in the aftermath of Helene.
“Our thoughts go out to all those who experienced the devastating impact of Hurricanes Milton and Helene,” said William J. (John) Berger, the president and chief executive officer at Sunnova. “We understand the importance of having power when you need it most. I am proud of our teams that did their part to help our customers and communities in this time of need. Powering families through these deadly storms has highlighted the robust reliability of our solar + storage systems.”
In August, Sunnova solar and storage systems powered more than 54,500 customers in Puerto Rico through Tropical Storm Ernesto. During the storm, local utilities were unable to deliver power to approximately half of the residents on the island; in that seven day span, Sunnova solar + storage customers generated 8.05 GWh of energy. Sunnova reported about 98.5% of its SunSafe systems in Puerto Rico went undamaged.
In July, nearly 3,000 Sunnova customers in the Houston, Texas area generated 485,249 kWh of energy during the week of Hurricane Beryl, which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers. 96% of SunSafe systems survived the storm intact. In total, Sunnova says systems for more than 100,000 customers in hurricane-affected areas this season have experienced no material damage.
Still floating!
Floating solar developer D3Energy conducted inspections of its floating solar portfolio across central Florida, some of which were directly in the path of Hurricane Milton. The company reports that all 10+ of its systems remained fully operational with no reported damage.
The ability of the systems to withstand hurricane-force winds and extreme flooding highlights the reliability of floating solar technology, D3Energy contends, noting real-world experience like this is vital for the long-term success of such projects.
“Our systems are designed to handle extreme weather, and Hurricane Milton was a clear example of that,” said Stetson Tchividjian, managing director of D3Energy. “Seeing all of our systems continue to operate smoothly in the aftermath of such a powerful storm is a testament to the expertise and commitment of our team and partners.”
D3Energy credits its partnership with “pioneers of floating solar” Ciel & Terre and its Hydrelio system providing the advanced engineering and design that underpin D3Energy’s installations, enabling them to deliver robust, storm-resistant projects. Hydrelio floating systems are uniquely equipped to handle high wind events thanks to flexible, buoyant design and adaptive mooring systems that are anchored securely yet allowed to move naturally with water currents and wind, reducing the stress on individual components. According to Ciel & Terre, the low profile of the panels minimizes wind resistance and the distributed weight across the floating platform ensures stability even during extreme weather.
