Solar Asset Managers Talk Underperforming Systems, Catastrophic Losses and AI at SAMNA 2026

Why It Matters

Addressing underperformance and catastrophic risk directly protects investor returns, while AI adoption promises to cut O&M costs and improve reliability across the rapidly expanding utility‑scale solar market.

Key Takeaways

• 650+ industry professionals gathered at SAMNA 2026 in San Diego
• Hail risk recognized as larger threat; stow features gaining traction
• AI‑driven robotics can inspect under‑panel components unseen by drones
• Control‑system tweaks offer cost‑effective middle ground to boost performance
• Data silos hinder AI; integrated platforms needed for full O&M insight

Pulse Analysis

The Solarplaza Summit Asset Management North America conference has become a barometer for the health of the solar O&M sector. By concentrating on asset underperformance, participants exposed a systemic issue: many plants operate below design expectations, eroding cash flows for owners and financiers. Experts from Kinematics and IED advocated a tiered approach—benchmarking, targeted control‑system upgrades, and selective repowering—showing that modest interventions can restore efficiency without the capital outlay of full repower projects. This pragmatic mindset is reshaping how independent power producers allocate maintenance budgets.

Risk mitigation emerged as another focal point, driven by a spate of hail events that have devastated panels and trackers across North America. VDE Americas highlighted the growing adoption of hail‑stow mechanisms on single‑axis trackers, a technology still not universal but increasingly demanded by insurers and lenders. By leveraging high‑resolution weather data and predictive analytics, asset managers can pre‑emptively reinforce vulnerable sites, reducing insurance premiums and downtime. The conference’s emphasis on proactive risk intelligence signals a shift from reactive repairs to data‑informed resilience.

AI and robotics, while still nascent, were presented as the next frontier for solar asset management. Nextpower demonstrated its NX Ranger robot and AI‑powered NX Vantage camera, tools that capture thermal anomalies beneath panels—issues that escape traditional drone surveys. Yet speakers like Derek Mast warned that fragmented data pipelines and proprietary formats impede broader AI deployment. The consensus is clear: to unlock AI’s full potential, the industry must converge on unified data standards and integrated platforms that combine ticketing, inspection, and analytics. As AI matures, it promises to streamline O&M workflows, lower operational costs, and enhance long‑term asset performance.