Why Insurance for Renewable Energy Now Focuses on Solar Maintenance
A lot of the work that we do requires us to come up with innovative solutions. That sounds like a great thing – new ideas, new technology – but sometimes an innovative solution is just doing a simple task a different way.
Over the past few years we have been doing both, working with new technology as well as finding new ways to do existing things, particularly with the work we have been doing with distilleries.
That has brought us to the attention of insurance companies as the work that we do sometimes doesn’t fit in a pre-existing tick box. One company in particular, Aviva, has been really open to discussing our work and giving feedback, but also asking us what we think from an installation perspective. Also, importantly, they are looking at the maintenance side of things, particularly with larger solar arrays where often maintenance is not as obvious as on rotating plant like wind turbines or hydro schemes.
Following a few phone calls and emails, we met with one of their Risk Consultants down at Solar Storage Live in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago. That led to him and the head of renewables for Aviva visiting us at our premises in Inverness for a chat about what we do, looking at some of the kit we use. It was really good to show them our work, to hear some of their thoughts and to give them feedback on why designers and installers (or at least we) do what they do.
What does this mean for you, the customer? And why the interest about insurance for renewable energy systems?
Well, the big glut of renewable energy systems that were installed as part of the FIT era are getting to 5-10 years old. This is an age when perhaps things start to wear out, get a bit more stressed because of age (happens to us all…) and perhaps wee cracks start to appear (also happens to us all). It’s insurance companies who might be picking up the tab on any costs that arise, so they are keen to see how this can be prevented or at least minimised.
We’ve shared and updated our maintenance programmes and techniques to include some of this feedback, and we are thankful to Aviva for their open and collaborative approach to looking at this.
You may remember our blog from the other week when we first alerted you to how things are changing when it comes to insurance for renewable energy systems. Have a think about your own maintenance requirements, and also, if your system is insured, what your insurer requires you to do. If you would like any help, give us a call or send us your query online.