By P Gosselin
Green energy follies: An EF-1 low intensity tornado exposes the true vulnerability of solar energy
An article from the German climate science critical Report24 reports on a major disaster involving a solar farm in Indiana that was destroyed by a tornado, underlying the fragility of PV systems as a source of energy.
Tornadoes can tear PV farms apart with little ease. Symbol image generated by Grok AI.
On March 10, an EF-1 tornado (a relatively low-intensity storm) struck Wheatfield, Indiana. It directly hit the “Dunns Bridge I & II” solar projects, destroying a significant portion of the facility. According to Report 24, approximately 2.4 million solar modules were damaged or destroyed. Aerial footage showed rows of panels ripped from the ground and twisted metal frame.
The facility is valued at approximately $1 billion. According to sources, manufacturer warranties often exclude tornado damage, potentially leaving the operator (NIPSCO) or customers with a massive bill for reconstruction, unless the government steps in with a bailout plan.
Report24 highlights the “toxic risks” of the sdestruction, suggesting that broken panels could leak heavy metals or other hazardous substances into the soil and groundwater.
The central point of the article is a critique of “green” infrastructure, pointing out that a nearby coal power plant remained unscathed by the storm, showing that traditional energy sources are more resilient and reliable than solar energy.
Report 24 is highly critical of “climate fanatics” and “green ideology,” framing the event as proof that renewable energy infrastructure is too fragile and expensive for practical long-term use. But Germany’s leaders refuse to acknowledge this reality, insisting that green energies are plentiful, cheap, reliable and that the real problem is that not enough has been invested in them.
scottsbluff, ne enters the chat
Not the first or the last. All will be hit by the tornado of time in 20 years or so. Remove, replace, repeat.
The IEA say there is
“Mounting evidence that solar panels installed in the early 2010s, particularly in utility scale projects, are now being replaced in many instances after just 10-15 years of operation because technology is outdated or performance has degraded”
IEA ‘World Energy Outlook 2025’ (Nov 2025)
For a more complete analysis of this tornado impact on indiana power supply, see report by the Energy Bad Boys here:
https://energybadboys.substack.com/p/solar-scattered-coal-still-standing
My synopsis:
https://rclutz.com/2026/04/01/x-weather-shattered-solar-coal-undaunted/
Hmmm… Better start figuring these things to have 2 – 3 year, not 25 year lives. Once you factor reality in they really get ridiculously expensive.
Who pays for the cleanup? And how much?
Are the materials within water soluble? I do not understand how they can pollute the ground.
Glass shards and splinters are an extreme form of pollution.
They make the ground totally useless, if not dangerous, for animals or crops.
What about the semiconductor(s), specifically the doping materials?
Yep, that as well. Totally environmentally destructive in almost every respect.
We are not supposed to put semiconductors (or any electronics) in landfills. We have separate recycling for those. I do not know what or how (if anything) is done with what is put in the recycling.
That used to be because lead was used in solder.
Lead, too.
The doping materials are scattered throughout the substrate.
Think of leaded crystal.
You’re not to supposed to ask questions like that when they are busy with rant reporting and slinging unsupported assertions to the low information types.
It doesn’t take much leaching of heavy metals in solar panels to create a toxic mess, which is possible once protective seals are broken from physical damage.
Water is called “The Universal Solvent”. It will dissolve a lit bit of just about everything it comes in contact with. ( https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/water-universal-solvent )
“…a massive bill for reconstruction, unless the government steps in with a bailout plan.”
As if “the government steps in” wouldn’t result in an even bigger bill for a much delayed reconstruction!
With probability = 1 (given enough time) virtually all solar installations in temperate latitudes can be expected to be damaged or destroyed.
This happened on March10th and this is the first and only time I saw it reported. Who could’ve thunk that this could happen?!
I wonder if it went into a NOAA bllion dollar climate disaster report.
There is a report from Florida of twisters taking out solar farms, a consequence of a hurricane making landfall.
There are reports of hailstorms in Oklahoma (?) and other States doing significant damage to SV facilities.
Please to see it stated in one of the referenced reports that the image was by Grok AI.
It shows customary AI mistakes.
One example, recent heavy vehicle tyre tracks are shown in the mud UNDER some damaged panels still largely in place. Might have been a 12 inch high truck, but unlikely.
One day soon (I hope) authors will go back to original, accurate, real images. The AI stuff sucks as authors with vanity try the recent trendy style with errors. Why?
Geoff S
Disclosure: I reached International Judge status for Australian based photography competitions where accuracy is commonly a plus factor.
Additionally, who will believe the report if the illustration is so fake?
Link from Ron up above shows a real picture of the destroyed solar junkyard.
Glass shards from this may severely degrade surrounding farmland.. !!
Tornadoes can make a path that is very nerrow, such as ripping all the trees to pieces on a street and doing no damage to the trees 100 feet off-set from the street. Such appears to me to be the case in Wheatfield. The solar area is very large, stretching in a SW-to-NE pattern. Here is the video:
Tornado Hits Solar Farm Wheatfield, IN Everything Wiped Out 6K Drone Footage March 11
Parts are demolished, other parts untouched. Can untouched parts still operate?
I surely don’t know.
While it’s possible a few may still work, I wouldn’t try until after it has been inspected.
No telling which parts are shorted together or which pieces of metal may be touching live wires somewhere in that mess.
You will need technicians to go through and manually check to make sure that each panel has been disconnected from the grid.
Once that is done, you can start figuring out which trunk lines are still intact and then figuring out how to connect the still operational panels with the good trunk lines.
Unless the power is desperately needed, it’s a lot easier to just disconnect all the panels, then rip out everything that has been damaged and then reconnect what is left, while waiting for the new panels to arrive from China.
The Germans and other EU buyers will need Grok AI for images of forced labor camps making half the world’s solar silicon ingot supply chain with a vast array of coal fired power plants. No one will get within 500 km of those prison labor camps to take pictures or report on the forced labor population. And we know that will continue since the EU gave them a market for solar panels until at least 2027. Row well and live to supply the EU Greens.
Try this:
Guess how many wind and solar facilities exist in South Florida, my ocean beach home of 25 and a half years until over a year after my Patricia died. Exactly zero. The reason wasn’t tornadoes. It was hurricanes.
In my just now ended 25 plus years on the Fort Lauderdale beach in a post Andrew Cat 5 ‘hurricane proof’ building, we nicely survived more than a few, including 3 ‘near direct’ hits at Cat 3 or greater including Wilma—whose grounds damage to our complex took almost 2 years to repair as everything outside was totally flattened. Wilma’s eyewall passed only about 15 miles south of us. A night to remember as we watched then pole mounted transformers blow up in the dark and howling winds. (Wilma forced FPL to bury almost all its distribution infrastructure in Fort Lauderdale. Easy to do into loose sand.) Renewables would have survived none even at Cat 1.
For those here not familiar with the meteorological classifications, an EF1 tornado is characterized by 3 second wind gusts >86mph. A Cat 1 hurricane is characterized by sustained winds >74 mph plus prolonged gusts >100mph. And from personal experience, I can say prolonged gusts means up to 30 seconds. You can count the gust time via the violently shaking ‘hurricane proof’ balcony sliding door panels they cause.
Can’t really say this is good news but it proves solar can’t support a modern society. Solar is expensive, intermittent, has a huge footprint, needs 24/7 backup, is ugly, harms and kills wildlife and can’t stand on its own. Stop wasting our time, money and resources on this crap.
Southwest Houston area enters the chat
Clearly they should be mounting this equipment in a tornado resistant building. Or underground.They would save so much money on transmission wires if they just set these panels in the basement at the power station.
“But Germany’s leaders refuse to acknowledge this reality, insisting that green energies are plentiful, cheap, reliable and that the real problem is that not enough has been invested in them.”
Well, good for you Germany and other green European nations. The less ff you buy helps keep the price down and as your industries die off, it’ll be great for American industries.
[“The less ff you buy helps keep the price down and as your industries die off, it’ll be great for American industries.”]
That’s what’s happening in the UK, & it is great for … Chinese & Indian industries. (:-((
A solar farm not to far from my location in Texas had a hail storm pretty much total it’ Hail is a common occurrence during tornado weather so the panels are looking at a double whammy when placed in places where such weather is common.
Sooo, the preferred generation isn’t resilient enough to stand up to the very storm’s it is intended to prevent. And YES if Solar is supposed to stop climate change and thereby remove the likelihood of severe weather then solar is supposed to prevent the very storms that it can’t withstand. Likelihood of Solar reversing Climate Change… Net Zero!
If on farmland, there will now be glass shards all over the place, making it very dangerous for any future grazing.
Wind and solar truly are the most environmentally devastating form of electricity even conceived. !
Here are seven reasons why wind and solar remain popular despite the devastation to the economy and the environment.
The 7 Layers of Renewable Energy Subsidies (Including RECs at the Bottom)
1. Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC)
Covers 30% or more of the capital cost for solar and certain other renewables.
2. Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC)
Pays renewable generators a fixed amount per kWh for the first 10 years of operation — extremely valuable for wind.
3. Accelerated Depreciation (MACRS Bonus Depreciation) *
Allows renewable projects to write off most of their capital cost in the first year, reducing taxable income drastically.
4. State and Local Renewable Incentives
Cash rebates, grants, low‑interest loans, property‑tax exemptions, sales‑tax exemptions, and local clean‑energy funds
.
5. State Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)
Mandates requiring utilities to procure a fixed percentage of renewable energy — forcing demand upward regardless of cost.
6. Above‑Market Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
Utilities often sign long-term contracts paying higher-than-market rates to renewable generators to satisfy policy goals.
7. Renewable Energy Credits (RECs & SRECs)
The final layer. Credits sold separately from electricity provide an additional stream of income on top of all the above subsidies.
When taken over the life of a project, accelerated depreciation does not decrease the total tax bill. The advantage is that you get your money back now, instead of over 10 to 15 years. As any economist will tell you, money now is more valuable than money later.
I live in rural NW New Jersey USA. I observed many former farmers fields covered with solar cells were covered with snow for about one month
Farming subsidies can be lucrative
Rebuild? Replace? Not landfill and forget? What was that again about the definition of insanity? What was that again about what Einstein is credited with saying about human stupidity and the universe? What is it going to take to end this fetish?
As of early April 2026, the Eight Rivers Solar Park (also known as Paradise Park Solar Farm) in Paradise, Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, has not been reported as fully repaired or returned to full operation following the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Melissa in late October 2025.
The medieval mindset. When the plentiful cheap and reliable solar panels are not enough, more of the same is needed. Until the patient dies because of the loss of essential resources, like money.
Why use AI images? I guess the real damage of some bend stilts was not scary enough.
Look at a coal ash dump if you want to see a real toxic dump.
There certainly are issues related to coal ash wastes. Rules and regulations are in place to address prior and current hazards, however.
With regard to solar farms, generation of toxic substances from weather damage is one of several issues that were fully ignored, or perhaps not even considered. That is changing as these issues become apparent.
Actual picture posted above was taken by a drone.
I bet MUR won’t acknowledge the real picture, Sparta. Or will find some way to say it’s not that bad.
I do not know why so many people elect to feed the trolls.
It’s like bear baiting.
Coal ash has many many re-uses.
It is used as a major component of Portland cement, so ends up in all concrete and cement products.
If you have plaster walls, they almost certainly contain coal ash, used as a gypsum substitute.
Also used in road construction as both stabilised road base and in ASHphalt top layers
Is used as a gypsum substitute for earth improvement for farming.
It is used as a filler in a HUGE number of products, such as paint, adhesives, grouts, plastic tool handles, bowling balls, linoleum…some even ends up as a filler in those cosmetics you apply every day.
Refined grades are also used as an abrasive in cleaning products
It is actually a VERY VALUABLE PRODUCT.
The problems from coal ash storage are tiny compared to the multiple acids and toxins used in the manufacture of wind turbines and solar panels which create huge, highly toxic sludge lakes in China.. There is no comparison.
And at end of their erratic and parasitic short life, wind and solar are just dumped in landfill..
… they provide absolutely NOTHING of any worth
ps.. Did you know that Recent data from the U.S. Department of Energy indicates that the use of coal ash in concrete can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30%.
Plus, its incorporation can enhance the durability of concrete, making constructions last longer with fewer repairs.
In 2021, a groundbreaking project in Pennsylvania used 1.2 million tons of fly ash in highway construction. It resulted in roads that aren’t only smoother but also capable of withstanding heavier loads. That is 1.2 million tons of material that no longer have to be mined.
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production detailed agricultural trials where coal ash improved soil fertility and boosted crop yields by an average of 15%. Results showed that it also enhanced drainage while balancing soil pH.
“some bend stilts”
Now look at the image posted by SN4 up above.
TOTAL DESTRUCTION.
“only a flesh wound” 😉
“insisting that green energies are plentiful, cheap, reliable and that the real problem is that not enough has been invested in them.”
If such projects were economically feasible, the “profit driven” oil companies would have invested and developed these a long time ago without the government throwing tax payer dollars into the wind and sun.
It is now 19 months since Equinor decided to discontinue offshore wind projects in Spain and Portugal following an earlier announcement that they had pulled out of Vietnam. They also said they were considering pulling out of other markets in an effort to cut costs. Wind is so cheap you see! 🙂
Searched Equinor to see how they’re doing. Mission statement is still this confusing arrangement of words:
“In Equinor, we are determined to deliver the energy the world needs today, safely and reliably. At the same time, we aim to be a leading company in the energy transition and to achieve net zero emissions in 2050.
To do this, we will deliver oil and gas with as low emissions as possible, expand in renewables and further develop low carbon solutions.”
(net zero emissions in 2050) + (deliver oil and gas) = you figure it out.
In 1998, the Davis-Besse Nuclear Station took a direct hit from an F2 tornado (three funnel clouds converging into one over the plant). It knocked out the phones and the offsite power for a few hours, but the plant was fine.
The AI image is mild compared to the actual image of the destruction.
I wonder if the results of this episode will be published in a manner that will offer a realistic understanding of the damage, repair and cleanup, and continued use of the area. More likely this will be like a TV-news blurb: “accident at Main and 2nd street; film at 11” Then the film runs at 11:13 with no new information.
Symbol image generated by Grok AI. ‘
Please stop doing this.