Lightning Science and Wind-Turbine Electric Generator Protection
Linecurrents composite image created from wind-turbine generators photo by Cassie Boca and lightning photo by Clinton Naik at Unsplash.com.
Lightning strikes may damage wind-turbine generators.
“Upward” lightning from structure to cloud is a recent phenomenon.
Researchers describe 21st-century “Ben Franklin” lightning-strike observations — Science Friday podcast August 16, 2019 episode.
Where There’s Thunder, There’s Lightning Science is the title of a recent Science Friday public radio program segment. Research into lightning strike characteristics such as described in the program may aid in wind turbine electric generating equipment design to reduce or prevent damage caused by lightning’s high-energy electrical discharge.
SciFri host Ira Flatow and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Spectrum news editor Amy Nordrum interviewed lightning science researcher Farhad Rachidi of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), electrical engineering professor Bill Rison of New Mexico Tech at Socorro, and research scientist Ryan Said of Vaisala during the August 16, 2019 broadcast of Science Friday.
The 34-minute segment and is available for replay at the Science Friday website (link below), and for download at online podcast services.
EPFL scientists collect lightning-strike data from instruments installed at Säntis Tower in Switzerland, at elevation 2,502 m (8,209 ft) on Säntis mountain. Lightning strikes the tower more than 100 times per year.
New Mexico Tech’s Rison and Mark Stanley installed a custom-designed broadband interferometer, built by Stanley, on Säntis Tower to provide measurements for EPFL analysis.
The Säntis team’s work has held particular relevance for wind farm operators. That’s because most strikes recorded at the tower are examples of upward lightning—which travels from ground-to-cloud instead of cloud-to-ground. - IEEE Spectrum
Some of the Science Friday segment discussion concentrates on characteristics and physics of lightning, and research designed to gain greater understanding of lightning dynamics. Rachidi’s comments about WTGs and “upward — downward” lightning strikes begins at about 17 minutes into the audio track.
Vaisala provides weather, environment, and industrial measurements services, including the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network.