It's probably not a good idea to put a mesh over them full time. It will definitely reduce your output by shading the cells. Any crystalline module (the ones most commonly available) will have greatly reduced output with only part of one cell shaded. It has to do with the way each cell works and the fact that they are connected in series. I would suggest that you only cover them when absolutely necessary. Most name-brand glass-faced panels are rated for hailstones up to 1 inch diameter. I don't know what size hail you get there, but if it's larger than that and relatively infrequent, covering them only when there's a chance of hail will get you better ROI than having a mesh over them.
I was thinking about chicken wire, it's not that bad, it only cuts out some of the incident light, and adds protection against floating debris and birds.
Remember I won't be on-location to keep things clean all the time. We had hailstones of over 4 inches once. Again, very rare, but very large. Usually it's no bigger than a nail but we had a year where half the village experienced see-through roofs after a storm. As for the snow, maybe a few small mirrors mounted near the top of the panels could be enough to create a melting spot.
wind power? how are those rare earth metals environmentally concious?
just sayin...
I already have some lower quality ones, or I'll use some recycled alternator parts or something. I will promise you to keep away from buying new shiny Chinese neodymium magnets just sayin...
