America's changing disaster risk hits energy
Summary
Severe thunderstorms are becoming a major risk to America's energy infrastructure, rivaling hurricanes in insurance losses. As more energy projects and data centers are built in areas prone to strong storms, developers and insurers face bigger financial risks when severe weather strikes.Key Facts
- Severe thunderstorms cause 40% of the world's insured disaster risks, more than hurricanes at 27%.
- The U.S. makes up 68% of these insured disaster losses, totaling $117 billion according to Verisk.
- Climate change may increase moisture in the air, which can fuel powerful storms, but other factors may reduce storm chances.
- The main cause of increasing losses is more valuable property being built in risky locations, not just climate change.
- New renewable energy projects, like solar farms, can be damaged by large hailstorms.
- Data centers, critical for digital services, are built in risky areas with billions of dollars in equipment at stake.
- Tornado occurrences have risen by about 10% in some parts of the Southeast but declined in other areas.
- Flooding from heavy rain is the biggest threat to nearly all infrastructure during thunderstorms.
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