Global Courant
A recent major hail storm in western Nebraska shut down an entire solar farm, forcing the local community to return to traditional energy sources, local officials said.
The so-called Community Solar Project — a 4.4-megawatt solar field consisting of 14,000 solar panels and located in Scottsbluff, Nebraska — is currently not operating and will remain offline until repairs are complete, the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) confirmed to Fox News Digital. . NPPD, the state-owned public utility, and energy company GenPro Energy Solutions developed the project in 2020.
“The solar complex has been destroyed by hail,” said Scottsbluff City Manager Kevin Spencer in an interview. “They are assessing the damage, but it certainly looks destroyed.”
“I don’t think we’re ready to give up solar power,” Spencer added. “It was our understanding that these solar panels were at least hail resistant. This hail was extreme, you know, the size and probably the speed of it. So I don’t know if we would give it up now.”
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Last week, a tornado and storm with baseball-sized hail hit the region and caused widespread damage, regional Emergency Management Director Tim Newman told the Scottsbluff Star-Herald Saturday. Newman reportedly toured the damage with a National Weather Service meteorologist and estimated the damage at as much as $1 million.
Dwight Patterson, CEO of GenPro Energy Solutions, said leaders at his company planned to meet with solar farm owners and insurance experts later Thursday to assess the extent of damage the storm had caused to the project.
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“Severe weather, like the storm that hit Scottsbluff, is a great example of why renewable energy suppliers and local electric utilities benefit from strong partnerships,” Patterson told Fox News Digital. “Forces that are sometimes beyond our control can affect the delivery of critical electrical power to homes, hospitals and critical infrastructure.”
“We believe in an all-of-the-above approach to energy production in the US as the best way forward, with smart collaboration with all energy suppliers and an eye for emerging technologies that will lead to resilient, safe and efficient electricity for all,” he said.
This drone image shows the solar project in Scottsbluff, Nebraska shortly after it was built by GenPro Energy Solutions in March 2020. (GenPro Energy Solutions/YouTube)
Patterson added that the Scottsbluff Community Solar Project used top-tier solar panels that can withstand most hail storms. While hail storms are unlikely to damage the panels, he said, it is always possible.
Jeremy Anderson, GenPro Energy Solutions’ chief construction officer, said the hail storm caused significant damage to the solar panels, but other components of the system “may have been damaged only superficially or not at all.”
In addition, an NPPD spokesman said the region has not experienced any power supply issues.
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“NPPD is currently working with the solar developer who owns and manages the project,” NPPD spokesperson Grant Otten told Fox News Digital. “The developer assesses the damage and determines next steps and a timeline for equipment repair or replacement.”
“The Scottsbluff Community Solar facility is relatively small compared to the rest of NPPD’s generation assets,” he wrote. “Our largest source of generation is Gerald Gentleman Station in Sutherland, NE, a 1,365 MW coal power plant. Our second largest source is Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, NE, an 800 MW nuclear power plant.”
Otten noted that the project is part of the community-wide solar program, which is built in partnership with communities and provides solar energy to that specific community.
Thomas Catenacci is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
