The most severe wildfires can cause widespread destruction and force thousands of people to flee their homes. They can also cost lives. In recent years, drier summers and arid conditions have contributed to increasingly dangerous wildfires in many parts of the world, with seemingly endless news reports detailing the resulting damage. A less obvious consequence of these catastrophic events, but one that is gaining increasing attention, is the impact that heavy smoke from wildfires can have on solar power generation, whether the panels are part of a large solar farm, on a commercial building, or on the roof of your home.
A study published in Nature in July 2026 estimates, for example, that smoke from record forest fires in Canada in 2023 had the effect of reducing solar energy production. The researchers found that the smoke and suspended particles blocked or scattered some of the sunlight that under normal conditions would have reached the solar panels, producing less electricity. The researchers’ model estimates that the atmospheric effects of Canada’s fire emissions over five months caused a total loss of about 6.38 terawatt hours (TWh) of solar power generation in North America and Europe.
The reduction represents about 2.8% of all solar electricity produced in these regions during those five months and would have resulted in an economic deficit of about $1.9 billion, not to mention some 2.1 megatons of associated CO2 emissions. However, the researchers note that there is considerable uncertainty around their estimates. Smoke from wildfires isn’t the only problem facing solar power. Let’s look at other challenges affecting the efficiency of solar panels and the best ways to address them in the future.
Other challenges facing solar energy
Smoke from wildfires clearly impacts solar production, but it is not the only factor that can reduce the performance of solar panels. Emissions from vehicles and coal-fired power plants, for example, can also have a marked effect on the amount of sunlight reaching a panel, while dust from activities such as construction and mining can build up directly on a panel’s surface, reducing its output. With such challenges likely to persist and governments looking to increase their use of solar energy as they move away from fossil fuels, what can be done to minimize their impact on electricity generation?
Until a way is found to realistically address the enormous challenge of reducing wildfires, the best thing to do is to work on improving solar forecasts so that they better account for the effects of smoke. This would allow grid operators to better anticipate declines in solar production and set up alternative sources of electricity in advance, helping to prevent potential supply shortages while reducing costs. In fact, there is evidence that better forecasting will make a real difference. A 2025 study at Cornell University developed a machine learning model to predict solar production during severe smoke events. The researchers found that their model significantly outperformed existing forecasts used by New York’s grid operator, suggesting that more accurate forecasts could actually help grid operators better match electricity supply with demand when smoke reduces solar production.
When it comes to automotive and industrial pollution, the most obvious solution is to reduce particulate emissions at the source using cleaner technologies and stricter pollution controls. For dust from construction and mining, better dust management practices can reduce the amount reaching panels, while more effective and regular cleaning can help restore performance when dust builds up.
The threat to solar panels doesn’t just come from the sky
While wildfire smoke clearly poses a significant challenge to the solar industry, another major threat is the fires themselves, which cause physical damage to solar farms. Indeed, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has already identified damage from wildfires as a danger, saying they could set solar panel systems on fire or melt the components that help make them work. In fact, it’s already happened. In July 2026, a solar farm operated by French company Luxel was caught in the path of a forest fire in the south of France.
About 100 of its 43,500 panels were damaged, along with several cables, although its transformers and inverters survived and remained operational. The relatively limited damage appears to be mainly due to effective management of nearby vegetation, which can fuel an approaching wildfire. It shows how such a measure can help make solar parks more resilient. Luxel said regular cleanup work at the site, including a 50-meter perimeter around fencing, helped prevent flames from reaching most of the facility.
Such forward planning is also recommended by the DOE. He advises solar operators located in wildfire-prone areas to maintain defensible space around installations by regularly managing vegetation, but also paving areas around important equipment. It also suggests placing vital electrical equipment in fire-resistant containers, ensuring firefighters can quickly and easily access certain parts of the site, and creating and updating a wildfire emergency response plan. As the use of solar energy continues to grow, the challenge will not only be improving the technology so that it can produce more electricity, but also ensuring that the systems behind solar farms are able to withstand the myriad environmental threats that could disrupt their operations.
