Whether hailstorm or cyclone, this solar tech is made to withstand Australian extremes for decades

Detailed summary

Smarter solar trackers promise protection from hail and cyclones, while cutting construction and maintenance costs.

Solar farms are often on the firing line of Australia’s chaotic weather. Hail stones in particular can smash solar modules while cyclonic winds can cause structural damage.

Solar panels are required to meet an international minimum standard of 25 mm in diameter (the commonly applied industry standard is 35 mm). But research in 2025 finds climate change could make hailstorms more frequent, and hail stones larger and more damaging. Last month seven-centimetre stones pelted parts of Southeast Queensland, and this time last year supercell hailstorms destroyed hundreds of solar arrays in the same region.

The solar industry has begun rolling out infrastructure for utility-scale energy projects to withstand extreme weather events like these. This includes GameChange Energy, a global infrastructure company with a suite of innovative technologies to ensure utility-scale solar projects are reliable for decades to come.

We spoke to GameChange Energy’s Oceania and Southeast Asia Managing Director Vaibhav Joshi and Business Development Director Javier Vidal Echevarria at All Energy Australia. They explain how better engineering and construction practices can improve project economics and performance in even the most extreme circumstances.

“The market has moved from a cost-driven approach to a performance and execution driven approach. Gone are the days when the focus was on the lowest CaPex, now it’s about the best performing asset and long-term reliability,” Vaibhav says.

GameChange Energy is the world’s second largest solar tracker company, and number 1 for India, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and South Africa. A solar tracker is what rotates the panels to follow the sun from east to west. When a storm hits, the trackers can also stow the panels at a safe orientation.

GameChange’s trackers, however, integrate cloud-based weather data, rather than using on-site sensors for hail alerts and monitoring which Vaibhav says are liable to malfunction.

“What GameChange does differently from many…

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