Snow Damage Repair & Reinforcement Project

In heavy-snow regions of Japan such as Hokkaido, Tohoku and Hokuriku, thick snow, wet snow and avalanche sliding loads in winter have long been high-risk factors for photovoltaic power plants. Every snow season, snow-related damages frequently occur, including deformed supports, bent beams, uplifted foundations, cracked modules and collapsed arrays. These incidents lead to generation outages, high repair costs, and in severe cases, non-compliance rectification issues as well as insurance claim disputes.

 

 

The root cause is that many existing FIT power plants adopted low snow load values in their original design. Their mounting brackets use thin profiles with weak joint connections. The overweight load of wet snow and thrust from sliding snow were not taken into consideration, making the structures highly vulnerable to failure during extreme heavy snowfall.

Tailored for snow hazard-prone sites in Japan, we provide a dedicated solution for PV mounting brackets in compliance with JIS C8955 and snow load provisions of the Japanese Building Standard Law. Our services cover two major categories: Emergency Post-Snow-Damage Repair and Preventive Reinforcement Retrofit.

▫️ On-site snow hazard survey: Mapping of deformed and damaged locations, snow load review, structural failure analysis, and survey report issuance

▫️Post-disaster repair works: Replacement of bent components, reinforcement of damaged joints, repositioning and strengthening of foundations, secondary protection for modules to restore power generation rapidly

▫️Preventive reinforcement retrofit: Addition of support columns and diagonal bracings, upgrade to thicker profiles and improved connection bolts to increase snow-load bearing capacity

▫️Supporting technical documentation: Structural calculation reports, construction drawings and performance verification documents to satisfy review requirements of Japanese EPCs, owners, insurers and administrative authorities

Photos after retrofit with higher-strength carbon steel materials

• Load calculation based on regional snow reference values and historical heavy snow disaster cases

• Profiles made of high-weather-resistance aluminum alloy, zinc-aluminum-magnesium coated steel or heavy hot-dip galvanized steel, featuring good low-temperature toughness and resistance to brittle fracture

• Modular reinforcement accessories. Reinforcement can be implemented on the existing brackets without full dismantling, shortening construction periods and controlling retrofit costs

• Familiar with Japan’s snow-damage insurance claim procedures; survey reports can be supplied as supporting documents for insurance claims

Reinforcement before the snow season is the most cost-effective way to avoid snow-induced losses. PowerStone has rich practical experience in Japanese PV structural design and snow-hazard retrofitting. We offer full-service support including site survey, scheme design, component supply and technical coordination for snow-damage projects.