Lightning is a common cause of failures in photovoltaic pv systems.
Probability of space solar panels being damage.
However most mppt controllers are optimized for 2 or 3 or even 4 solar panels in series.
Yes they are liable to damage by lightening.
Asteroid impact avoidance comprises a number of methods by which near earth objects neo could be diverted preventing destructive impact events a sufficiently large impact by an asteroid or other neos would cause depending on its impact location massive tsunamis or multiple firestorms and an impact winter caused by the sunlight blocking effect of placing large quantities of pulverized.
In april of 2015 a research agreement between northrop grumman and caltech provided up to 17 5m for the development of innovations necessary to enable a space solar power system.
A damaging surge can occur from lightning that strikes a long distance from the system or even between clouds.
On top of this the probability of solar panel breakdown increases if connected in series this is because out of necessity a by pass diode will have to be added when putting solar panels in series and this introduces a higher probability of break down.
Pv farms installed in open areas where there are no high buildings or trees have a high probability of being hit by lightning and should seriously consider lightning protection in their solar designs.
Proton damage in silicon solar cells can be normalised to the damage produced by protons of one energy.
Of a carrington type solar storm might be between 1 trillion and 2 trillion in the first year alone with full recovery taking an estimated four to 10.
The potential collateral damage in the u s.
Likewise roof mounted solar panels on high buildings are also a target and should be protected.
They found that solar parks altered the local climate measuring cooling of as much as 5 degrees centigrade under the panels during the summer but the effects varied depending on the time of year.