Former research suggested that the amount of upward strikes increase with the structure height. And this is great for modern and ever-growing turbines since our range of lightning protection systems handle these upward strikes efficiently.
But…
We have evaluated more than 1,000 lightning strikes recorded by our Lightning Key Data Systems® (LKDS®) on offshore and onshore wind turbines.
And the result is staggering: where one would have expected around 50% of upward lightning ratio, our new data shows that for this fixed turbine height the ratio may actually vary between 10% and 80%! This has a huge impact on the lightning interaction with the turbines. So, there is a lot more than the structure height to consider: terrain topography, local weather phenomena, and seasonal variations.
And the consequences?
- Our risk exposure assessment tools can now predict even more precisely the lightning environment prior to your turbine installations.
- We can optimize our lightning protection systems to accommodate the actual lightning exposure at your site.
- The results emphasize that the use of lightning location data for real-time monitoring is not sufficient.
Only a direct measurement using LKDS® will provide you the necessary level of detail to lower your operating expenses, manage your maintenance, and reduce your risk exposure.