Lightning Protection For Solar Power Plants

Solar panels are especially prone to lightning strikes due to their large surface area and placement in exposed locations such as on rooftops or ground mounted in open spaces.

Lightning protection for solar power plants.

Vfc and lyncole are proud to be the only company in the grounding industry that actively designs installs and verifies our utility and power generation lightning protection. Lightning strikes are dangerous involving currents of up to several hundred thousand amps with rise and decay times of a few microseconds. How to protect your solar power system from lightning. Power generation fossil solar and nuclear plants are typically constructed in large and unobstructed locations making these systems susceptible to lightning strikes.

Earthing and lightning overvoltage protection for pv plants a guideline report november 2016 empowered lives. Lightning protection is usually associated mainly with distribution networks or transmission lines and substations. Protecting the power plant area from lightning related damage protecting the modules inverters and monitoring systems from the effects of electromagnetic impulses. Direct strikes causing large ground step potential differences are hazardous to life and limb and to equipment.

There are 6 600 operating power plants in the u s. However another area in the electricity supply paradigm where application of arresters needs to be considered are relatively small power stations also known as distributed generation dg plants. Lighting can seriously harm your pv system lightning strikes and related electric discharge are one of the top reasons for sudden unexpected failures of solar systems. Solar needs surge protection.

Solar pv systems in susceptible regions should be made safe from nature s power. Undp flashage qxp layout 1 11 2 16 11 45 am page 1. Protection against direct lightning strikes and transient overvoltage a lightning protection system for free field systems and solar parks has two main goals. Solar lightning protection is important as lightning strikes and related electric discharge is one of the top reasons for sudden unexpected failures of solar systems.

Try to route part of the system into wetter areas like where a roof drains or where plants are to be watered. This includes thermal coal oil nuclear geothermal anything that uses turbines that run on heat to generate energy hydroelectric solar wind or wave tidal. A lot of lightning protection work is buried and out. However lightning protection of solar arrays by traditional franklin rod systems is still subject to concerns regarding effectiveness shadow effects installation cost and appearance.

Where solar arrays are installed on residential or other rooftops lightning protection as described in nfpa 780 chapter 12 is a useful reference. Solar arrays are also electronic devices and so are subject to the same potential for damage from surges. If there is steel well casing nearby you can use it as a ground rod make a strong bolted connection to the casing.