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Markel investigates the intrinsic risks linked to the renewable energy sector and associated technologies.
Renewable energy is experiencing robust growth worldwide, driven by increasing efforts to transition toward sustainable energy sources. As a result, recent projects are markedly larger in scale compared with those constructed even five or ten years ago. Each distinct renewable energy sector encompasses a diverse array of components, presenting a wide spectrum of unique risks.
Developers, investors, and insurers therefore find themselves navigating an increasingly complex set of considerations for every project. Consequently, it is important to evaluate each technology based on its unique advantages and shortcomings, in order to assess its overall risk profile using criteria relevant to issues currently affecting each sector.
Our risk frequency gauge has been designed to provide a simple overview of the risk profiles associated with Onshore and Offshore Wind, Solar, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) technologies from an insurer’s perspective.
Markel is well positioned, as a leading renewable energy insurer, to track and analyse key developments impacting each of the covered renewable energy sectors in the coming years, and we will report the results in this report.
Risk ratings
Each renewable technology will be ascribed a rating, based on our investigations, experience and analysis of its overall risk factor, based on the following criteria:
Technology
- Operational experience
- Technology race
- Quality control
Sector status
- Players in the field
- Market conditions
- Projections
Climate change
- Adaptability
- Project locations
- Survivability
Economics
- Supply chain
- Financial volatility
- Obsolescence trend
Each technology will have a unique score measured on our bespoke gauge (example shown) to classify the risk associated. This will have three possible outcomes:
- Balanced: Green – current conditions in this sector suggest it is operating within typical risk levels, with no disruptive developments observed.
- Unstable: Amber – current conditions indicate that this sector is experiencing an increased risk level, which can be addressed with appropriate proactive measures. The possibility of significant insurance losses exists.
- Blackout: Red – current conditions have substantially increased the risk level in this sector, and projects are expected to encounter considerable insurance losses.
The arrow that appears above the gauge is a trend line that describes in which direction we see the risk heading.
Red means it is deteriorating and green means it is improving.
For curious readers, the range of numbers in the gauge define the boundaries of the different operational conditions of an electrical grid, in a simplified form.
Analysing the risks, sector by sector
Onshore wind
In the first instalment of our series, Jan Pagan analyses the perceived risks within the onshore wind energy sector.
About the author
Jan Pagán, Risk Control Engineer
Jan Pagán joined Markel in February 2023 as a Risk Control Engineer in our Marine & Energy team.
He began his career in the aerospace sector where he worked as a Senior Structural Design Engineer at Pratt & Whitney. After obtaining his MSc, he joined EDF as an Operations and Maintenance Engineer. He then transitioned to insurance as a Renewables Loss Adjuster, responsible for handling all types of renewable energy claims.
Jan is responsible for building collaborative relationships with insured clients, establishing Markel as a leader in renewable energy engineering services, providing pre-binding project risk reviews for underwriters, and performing risk assessment surveys on the projects where Markel is lead insurer.
Jan holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad Politéchnica de Puerto Rico and an MSc in Renewable Energy Hybrid Systems from the Universidad de Zaragoza and Kasel University.
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Content updated August 20, 2025.