CPP Wind Engineering, the leading global wind engineering consultancy for solar, today announced the first wind certification program for utility-scale solar projects, giving the industry an independent and reliable approach to wind design and review. The new program aims to improve the performance and durability of utility-scale solar over a full range of wind conditions.

The program offers two complementary services. Site Certification confirms that each project has properly assessed climate and site conditions, implemented an effective stow strategy, suitably positioned anemometers and utilized a qualified tracker or fixed-tilt system. System Qualification is a one-time review of a tracker or fixed-tilt product line’s wind engineering design data and methodology.

The solar industry has seen trackers fail at wind speeds within their wind speed design limits, as well as at wind speeds initially considered unlikely at sites. CPP’s new program targets these failures, drawing on the firm’s 45 years of wind engineering, including wind tunnel testing of solar projects, wind stow and siting studies, and forensic investigation of wind damage to solar projects. Tornado risk falls outside the certification program and is assessed separately using a probabilistic risk approach.

“Wind governs how a solar power plant is built, yet there has been no consistent way to show that the wind loads behind a design were derived and applied correctly,” said Dr. David Banks, President of CPP Wind Engineering. “Most of the wind damage we investigate occurs at wind speeds sites see every year, and most of it can be engineered out. This program gives owners, manufacturers and their advisors an independent basis for confirming the reliability of wind engineering. Tornadoes, on the other hand, can’t be engineered out. We must predict the probability of loss for those.”

For project owners and developers, CPP’s Site Certification enables a fair and well-informed comparison of mounting design options and provides a documented record of wind engineering diligence for financing, insurance and project sales. For manufacturers, CPP’s System Qualification evaluates the wind engineering basis of a tracker or fixed-tilt product line, providing a foundation for determining its suitability for site-specific wind conditions. For independent engineers, CPP serves as a partner, contributing enhanced wind engineering expertise to the due diligence they lead.

About CPP Wind Engineering

Based in Windsor, Colorado, CPP Wind Engineering has provided wind engineering consulting for 45 years, completing thousands of projects worldwide. With boundary layer wind tunnel laboratories in the United States, Australia and Malaysia, and offices in Canada and France, CPP specializes in wind tunnel and aeroelastic testing, computational fluid dynamics and full-scale field measurement. Its solar practice covers wind and snow loads, aeroelastic stability, tracker stow, anemometer siting and post-event forensics. CPP contributed to the Structural Engineers Association of California’s Wind Design for Solar Arrays, and its engineers serve on ASCE and IEC committees. Learn more at www.cppwind.com.

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