As utility-scale solar continues to grow rapidly, many developers, investors, and asset owners are beginning to question long-standing assumptions around long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) costs and system performance.
Field data and recent operating experience reveal a consistent gap, indicating that solar assets are underperforming expectations by an average of 6–8%. Yet many financial models still rely on outdated assumptions that don’t reflect the realities of today’s technologies, operating environments, or equipment failure patterns.
In his latest article, Is It Time to Rethink How We Model Long-Term Performance & Maintenance Costs in the Utility Solar Market?, E3 Consulting’s Daniel Tarico, Director of Renewables, offers a new framework for more realistic and data-driven modeling. He reviews common O&M and performance standard assumptions and recommends integrating observed underperformance trends, improved reliability modeling, and practical maintenance planning to better align long-term projections with actual field outcomes.
