On the risk of upward lightning initiated from wind turbines

Abstract

In recent years the number of wind turbines installed in Europe and other continents has increase dramatically. Appropriate lightning protection is required in order to avoid costly replacements of lightning damaged turbine blades, components of the electronic control system, and/or temporary loss of energy production. Depending on local site conditions elevated objects with heights of 100 m and more can frequently initiate upward lightning. From the 100 m high and instrumented radio tower on Gaisberg in Austria more than 50 flashes per year are initiated and measured. Also lightning location systems or video studies in Japan [1], [2] or in the US [3] show frequent occurrence of lightning initiated from wind turbines, especially during cold season. Up to now no reliable method exists to estimate the expected frequency of upward lightning for a given structure and location. About half of the flashes observed at the GBT are of ICC Only type. Unfortunately this type of discharge is not detected by lightning location systems as its current waveform does not show any fast rising and high peak current pulses as typical for first or subsequent return strokes in downward lightning (cloud-to-ground). Nevertheless some of this ICC Only type discharges transferred the highest amount of charge, exceeding the 300 C specified in IEC 62305 for lightning protection level LPL I.