Solar Power World is proud to present the second-annual SPW Rising Stars. These solar industry workers are improving the industry and inspiring others to join the clean energy workforce. Read all of our Rising Star profiles here.
As increasing extreme weather threatens utility solar projects, the industry is working to generate better risk predictions and make smarter siting decisions. Dennis Weaver, staff meteorologist at VDE Americas, is a rising leader in solar weather risk analysis. Weaver maintains the VDE Hail Risk Atlas ArcGIS mapping product, which allows users to map hail risk for the continental United States. This tool, along with Weaver’s other efforts, is giving the solar industry insights into hail-prone regions of the United States – enabling better project development and ensuring projects remain insurable. Below is a Q&A with Weaver.
SPW: What are the most challenging and, alternatively, most rewarding parts of working in the solar and storage industry right now?
Weaver: As it relates to catastrophic risk from extreme weather, where the majority of my work resides, I’d say one of the more challenging aspects is that the biggest questions coming from the solar industry are constantly changing and usually don’t have clear answers. It may be a matter of getting the right data, or developing the right product, or, in some cases, just providing the right guidance. But it’s a complicated problem and so the answers are complicated. To put it another way, I spend most of my time in ground-breaking scientific space.
This is also easily the most exciting and rewarding part of the industry right now! As an example, when I got started in solar a little over two years ago, one of the major scientific obstacles was understanding how wind modifies the way hail falls within a thunderstorm. This interaction relates to both the angle at which hailstones fall and the energy they carry, ultimately influencing the potential of a storm to cause damage at a solar site. While we are constantly improving our scientific understanding of these phenomena, there has been a tremendous amount of progress on this particular topic. As a matter of fact, we can actually now incorporate the effect of wind in the financial modeling of severe hail events.
Another good example is the geographic scale at which we can support hail risk analysis. Even as recently as the beginning of 2025, our understanding of hail frequency/intensity outside the United States was minimal at best. As the global market for solar continues to grow and evolve, it’s essential to help protect solar assets across international borders. We’ve used the latest and greatest in environmental modeling, as well as international weather radar data, to create products that support this sort of analysis around the globe.
While on the surface this should be one of the most challenging parts of the industry (constantly being asked questions where the honest answer is “I don’t know”), it provides a great opportunity to be a part of impact-driven, novel work that pushes the industry forward. I’m very fortunate to work with a team that insists on taking that “I don’t know” and quickly turning it into, “We’ve put in the work, now here’s what we can tell you.” That’s so incredibly special, and a joy to be a part of.
What advice would you give someone just starting their career in solar?
Take every opportunity you get to meet people! The passion for not only their own work, but for the success of solar as a whole, is infectious. There are so many great people across this industry who are more than willing to share both what they’ve learned, and their ambition for the future.
Early on, I was hesitant in many of these situations because I felt I didn’t know enough or wasn’t qualified to participate in the discussion. It turns out that just by wanting to be a part of the ride, you’ve already completed the first step. You don’t have to have every answer right away; just a willingness to listen, ask good questions and ultimately put in the work toward a better energy future.
What accomplishments are you most proud of so far in your solar career?
One of my very first projects in solar was working on developing the VDE Americas Hail Risk Atlas. This is a set of map layers that describe hail risk across the U.S. in terms of both event probability and financial loss for a variety of potential solar plant operating conditions during severe hail events. This product helps project developers, tracker manufacturers and other industry stakeholders get a quick visual assessment of a project’s exposure to extreme hail.
What’s a Big Idea you have about the renewable energy transition?
As climate change influences longer-term projections of hail intensity and frequency, it will become even more important to innovate creative ways to protect vulnerable project sites. We’ve already seen the introduction, and in many cases adoption, of high-tilt trackers, thicker front-glass modules and hail monitoring in regions where hail risk is of most concern.
I believe our model predictions of the true risk these storms pose is only going to continue improving. The incorporation of more accurate weather data and fine tuning of current models will help us better understand how these strategies can help defend solar developments. Such a reality would not only reduce the potential for large loss events and interruption to power generation when they do occur, but also minimize upfront project costs.
Who or what has had a major influence on your work in renewable energy?
Even in just two short years, I’ve worked with so many incredible people throughout this industry, it’s impossible to name them all. I owe most of my hail-related knowledge to Dr. John Allen of Central Michigan University, one of my mentors from way back when I first started my studies in meteorology, and someone who continues to be at the cutting-edge of the severe weather problem the solar industry faces.
I’ve also had the privilege of working alongside some of the best engineering minds and leaders in solar. It can be intimidating entering a field with a very different educational background than most of your new colleagues, but I can say the entire team at VDE has made that transition seamless from the very beginning. In many ways I consider myself a benefactor of some of the industry’s best. I’ve learned so much from people like John Sedgwick, Brian Grenko, Jonathan Allen and Jon Previtali — I’m incredibly thankful for their continued knowledge and guidance.
