Surge Arrester Placement in Wind Turbine System by Evaluation Overvoltages of Direct Lightning Strike to the Wind Turbine Blades and Overhead Distribution Lines

With the increasing use of renewable energy, the design of lightning protection system in generating electricity from wind energy is an important issue. Most wind turbines are installed in areas with high lightning density, high altitudes and rocky areas. Therefore, wind turbines are strongly affected by the direct impact of lightning on the wind turbine blades and even on the adjacent ground. On the other hand, the ground system is one of the most important components required in a lightning protection system suitable for wind turbines that proper design with an effective surge arrester is essential for the safety of people and equipment and the reduction of transient overvoltages on wind turbine electronic equipment. In this paper, using the real parameters of a 100 kW wind turbine, transient overvoltages against direct lightning strike to WT blades and overhead distribution line simulated. wind turbine equipment, grounding system, and a selected arrester are modelled in EMTP-RV environment for analyzing overvoltages in differenct scenarios.