Jun 9 2008
Bella Energy, a Louisville, Colorado-based solar energy company serving the Rocky Mountain Region, found that one of their systems, the largest residential solar electric system in Colorado, is still standing after a Class F3 tornado blew through Northern Colorado last week. Tornados are rated 1-5, with 5 being the strongest.
"We get a lot of wind out here so at first I wasn't sure the systems would hold up. But after the storm I had to say to Bella Energy that they were right. Those panels didn't blow away even in a tornado!" said the homeowner. "Our power from the utility grid is down because the tornado took out the electricity poles, but the solar systems were still in operation."
The property has three, 10 kilowatts systems, made up of 170 watt panels. The ground mounted structures held up to 150 mph winds while telephone poles nearby snapped like toothpicks. And no flying panels either! Solar panels tipped at an angle can catch the wind like a sail, but these remained intact, producing power.
This 160 acre homestead is about 10 miles outside of Windsor, Colorado, the storm's epicenter. On May 22, a Class F3 tornado left a three-quarter-mile-wide, 35-mile-long path through Windsor, a town of 16,000 residents, 70 miles north of Denver. Approximately 750 homes and businesses were damaged.
With the tornado came hail. Bella Energy uses panels with solar glass that is designed to stand up to one inch hail stones, so unfortunately one of the 10k system's glass shattered when hit by huge baseball-size hail stones at 150 mph. This type of glass breaks into small rectangles like automotive glass and it stayed broken in the framing instead of spreading everywhere. Fortunately, the panels were well under their 25 year warrantee.
Bella Energy staff were on the property during the storm and took shelter at the house only a few feet from where the storm flattened a flagpole to the ground. "The storm's power and the damage it did were intense. Sure it was an adrenaline rush but it was really scary for a few minutes there! And loud! Three inch hail stones make a lot of noise!" said Adam Bowen, Bella Energy Project Engineer.
Bella Energy is Colorado's leading solar energy company engaged in the designing and contracting of renewable energy and energy conservation projects throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. Since 1982, we have been empowering individuals, businesses and communities to achieve energy independence, embrace a sustainable future, and contribute to a clean energy economy.