Fire risk assessment of photovoltaic plants. A case study moving from two large fires: From accident investigation and forensic engineering to fire risk assessment for reconstruction and permitting purposes

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) plants have known a steep increase in number and installed power in the last decade all over the world. Together with this growth, also associated risks grew significantly. Among these fire risk has caught the attention of both Authorities, plant managers and any other stakeholders (such has owners of the property) due to the high number of fire involving solar plants. In 2012 around 600 fires involving solar plants occurred in Italy, with this figure in constant growth. In this paper fire risk assessment of PV installations is presented through several steps since the problem has gained a significant importance.