SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 10, 2026--
VDE Americas, a global leader in technical advisory and catastrophic risk assessment for the solar industry, today announced that it has enhanced its proprietary Hail Risk Model with newly analyzed wind speed data, significantly improving the accuracy of hail damage predictions for solar power generation facilities.
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Recent meteorological data analysis by VDE reveals that winds during hailstorms can be stronger than previously understood, with wind speeds at some locations more than doubling earlier estimates. VDE reached this conclusion after carefully filtering weather records to focus on events where hailstorms passed directly over weather stations across the contiguous United States. Stronger winds cause hailstones to strike panels more directly and with greater force, increasing the likelihood of solar panel breakage. By incorporating these more accurate wind speeds into its Hail Risk Model, VDE’s risk assessments better reflect real-world storm conditions.
"Wind speed and direction modify both the fall angle and impact energy of hail," explained Central Michigan University's Dr. John Allen, a leading expert on hail meteorology and loss modeling, and a consultant to VDE. "To effectively predict damage in the field, hail loss models need to account for the influence of wind. VDE's improved loss model better informs this extremely important piece of the puzzle by more accurately characterizing representative wind speed and direction during hail events."
VDE’s analysis of 2025 weather radar data indicates that very severe convective storms characterized by greater than 45-mm hail—a typical threshold for solar panel damage—occurred at or near dozens of utility-scale solar facilities. Despite the relatively high frequency of events, reported catastrophic losses were lower in 2025 than in previous years, potentially due in part to project operators’ increased adoption of hail stow protocols and severe weather alert services. Still, hail remains the number one catastrophic peril facing the solar industry.
“Our loss database of physical damage events to renewables assets reveals that hail accounts for 73% of total solar losses despite representing only 6% of loss events,” said Nicole Thompson, Senior Data Science Manager for Property Insurance at kWh Analytics, a specialty climate insurance provider. “Moreover, we found that, by count, 19% of these hail-related losses occurred in North Carolina, which is not traditionally considered a high-risk area for hail.”
To ensure clients always have access to the latest advancements in VDE Hail Risk Intelligence, the company is launching an annual subscription service that automatically delivers annually updated hail loss reports to support insurance renewal. The subscription service and other related products—including hail risk maps, engineered financial loss reports, and hail stow protocols—are available from VDE America's new sales portal.
"Solar is the largest source of new electricity capacity globally, but without adequate planning, the combination of wind and hail represents a significant threat to the operation of these facilities," said Brian Grenko, CEO and President of VDE Americas. "Our Hail Risk Intelligence products and services provide project stakeholders with the most accurate data available to optimize asset resiliency and mitigate potential financial losses.”
About VDE Americas
VDE Americas provides technical advisory and risk mitigation services to renewable energy stakeholders—from project owners and financiers to equipment manufacturers and those who construct, operate, and insure large-scale power generation and energy storage facilities. A wholly owned subsidiary of the VDE Group, VDE Americas is recognized globally as the leading authority in solar project hail risk intelligence and loss prevention. The company's expertise and innovative solutions have facilitated billions of dollars of investment in renewable energy assets.
For more information, visit: www.vde.com/en/vde-americas
About VDE
VDE, one of the largest technology organizations in Europe, has been regarded as a synonym for innovation and technological progress for more than 130 years. VDE is the only organization in the world that combines science, standardization, testing, certification, and application consulting under one umbrella. The VDE mark has been synonymous with the highest safety standards and consumer protection for more than 100 years.
For more information, visit www.vde.com
This meteorological data visualization shows potentially damaging hail events near operational utility-scale solar facilities commissioned prior to 2025, versus events near facilities that were fully commissioned or under construction in 2025.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.
On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.
“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.
The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”
Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.
The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”
“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”
The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”
Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.
Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.
The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”
“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”
The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.
“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
