Construction, operational and business interruption risks in the renewable energy sector

Juerg Trueb, head environmental and commodity markets, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions; Sam Roots, consultant, and Michael Wilshire, director of analysis, Bloomberg New Energy Finance

As renewable projects are capital-intensive, damage to assets can have a significant impact on overall costs. The construction phase is the most risky period of a project from this point of view: accidents are more likely to occur as wind turbines are hoisted into position; solar panels may be cracked when being fixed into place.