Solar Panels: From Eco-Dreams to Inferno Nightmares, By James Reed and Richard Miller (Londonistan)

Leading in the quest for net zero, solar panels have been hailed as the humble hero, affordable, abundant, and oh-so-green. But in 2025's UK, that dream is flickering out, quite literally. A bombshell QBE report reveals fire services tackling a solar blaze every two days in 2024, 171 incidents, up 60% from 107 in 2022, outpacing installations (1.3 million to 1.7 million panels) by double. That's not just a glitch; it's a glitchy system on fire. As Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's Solar Roadmap races to blanket millions more roofs (aiming for 85 GW by 2035), safety sirens blare: Faulty inverters, skimped regulations, and neglected upkeep are turning homes into tinderboxes. This isn't scaremongering, it's a wake-up call. Solar's dangers aren't abstract; they're arson-adjacent, with lithium batteries (1,330 fires in 2024) fanning the flames. Time to unplug the hype and plug the holes.

QBE's Freedom of Information trawl, 37 of 49 fire services, paints a pyre: 151 solar fires logged, implying ~200 nationwide. Residential roofs bore the brunt (97 cases), with commercial next (27). High-profile horrors? Bristol's St Michael's maternity ward evacuated in 2024 after panels ignited; Essex's Wickford saw batteries belch flames; Dorset's £1.5m mansion lost its top floor to a rooftop roar. Inverters, converting DC to AC, top the culprits, overheating from poor ventilation or faults. DC arcs (high-voltage jumps) spark in loose connectors; batteries runaway in thermal cascades.

Risk low per panel? Sure, 0.01% annually, but scale it: 1.7 million roofs, and that's 170 infernos, twice 2022's rate despite "deployment" excuses. QBE's Adrian Simmonds nails it: "Fires risen at twice the rate of new installations." As Miliband's roadmap minimises planning (safety baked in), the blaze rate could triple.

(Data: QBE/FOI; rate up 22%, but incidents doubled)

Inverters aren't villains by design, they're workhorses. But neglect turns them nuclear. Overheating tops causes: Poor ventilation traps heat (up to 60°C internals), sparking arcs or meltdowns. DC faults, loose MC4 connectors, bad isolators, arc like mini-welders, hitting 5,000°C and igniting roofs. Fire trace: "Overcharging, short circuits from inverters" trigger battery runaways, releasing toxins like hydrogen fluoride.

Batteries amplify: 1,330 lithium-ion fires in 2024, many solar-tied, thermal runaway chains one cell's failure into apocalypse. InterNACHI: Live DC lines shock firefighters post-main cutoff; toxic fumes (cadmium, lead) choke escape. GSES: "Poor workmanship + negligence" = most blazes; unchecked faults fester.

Ed Miliband's July 2025 Solar Roadmap, 47 GW by 2030, rooftop revolution, sounds sunny. But critics torch it: "Minimising planning requirements" guts safety checks, per GB News. Plug-in solar? Safety study promised, but regs ban it now, rushing risks repeats. New builds? Solar-mandated by 2027, without exemptions, shade or no. QBE: "Rapid deployment raises concerns," fires doubling despite fewer per capita risks.

Subsidies skew: ECO4/GBIS fund installs (£13.2bn Warm Homes), but zilch for upkeep, £150/year avg, inverters £1,000–£2,000 every 10–12 years. Low-income roofs (social housing targets) skip cleans (£80–£225 for 40 panels), breeding faults. CER: Foreign-born workers (1/3 green jobs 2011–19, post-Brexit surge) fill gaps, construction/energy roles. Training? Spotty; MCS certs mandatory, but "poorly trained installers" per Telegraph.

Blazes are tip-of-the-iceberg: DC persistence zaps firefighters (no AC cutoff stops it); toxins (HF, lead) poison air/water. Insurance hikes: QBE flags "complex claims," business interruptions, subrogation nightmares. Low-income hit hardest: Subsidised installs on strained roofs, no funds for £150/year checks. CER: Post-Brexit, foreign labour floods green jobs, construction 1/3 foreign-born, training lags.

Fixes exist: MCS certification, annual thermals (£150), arc-fault interrupters (California-mandated). Microinverters sidestep DC arcs; ventilation curbs inverter heat. But roadmap's rush, minimising planning, skips them. Solar Energy UK: "Risk exceptionally low if maintained," but who's enforcing?

Solar's surge, 171 fires in 2024, every 48 hours, exposes a hasty hustle: Inverters ignite, batteries boom, regs recede under Miliband's roadmap. Subsidies lure low-income installs without upkeep (£150/year sting), foreign-heavy workforce (1/3 green growth) strains skills. Dangers? Devastating, evacuations, toxins, shocks. Pause the panels: Mandate maintenance, tighten training, enforce checks. Or watch the green dream go up in subsidised smoke. As it is.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/11/solar_panels_wreak_havoc_in_the_uk_lighting_a_fire_literally_every_other_day.html