Therein lies the “conflict”. An article here today points out insurance companies are trying to figure out the “actual risk” of solar PV installations. Installations on home and small business roofs, commercial and industrial buildings will be affected like solar PV farms in the utility sector. In the final analysis, would adopting International Building Code S76-22 push insurance companies to relax rates on systems that meet this criteria? Or will it push the insurance companies to raise rates on older ‘noncompliant’ S76-22 Code solar PV systems already in service? I could also see this becoming a ‘flood insurance’ nightmare, where folks get flood insurance, to be ‘affordable’ they end up with a large deductable to keep insurance rates down. Between this and rote IOU electric utilities and their TOU rate spiking programs, it might be better to install smart ESS on one’s home (first) and add solar PV later if one determines Code compliance and insurance rates will erase solar PV and smart ESS advantages over the long term.

” The organization expects that the switch to category IV will result in dozens of gigawatts of canceled clean energy projects.”

In the utility solar PV sector, there are options like (First Solar) that have frameless bonded all glass modules in utility sized panels that also have a cradle to cradle program where First Solar grinds up old and broken panels and extracts the CdTe to use on the panel manufacturing line again. The code and insurance “agencies” also need to take into account the amortization of such technology over the life of the generation project said to be at least 25 years if natural disaster does not strike. It looks like solar PV farms and even wind farms can amortize in 10 years, something the typical 30 to 50 year amortization of fueled generation plants haven’t done.