Upward Lightning at Wind Turbines : Risk Assessment From Larger-Scale Meteorology

© 2023. The Authors.

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres : JGR. - 1998. - 129(2024), 1 vom: 16. Jan., Seite e2023JD039505
1. Verfasser: Stucke, Isabell (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Morgenstern, Deborah, Diendorfer, Gerhard, Mayr, Georg J, Pichler, Hannes, Schulz, Wolfgang, Simon, Thorsten, Zeileis, Achim
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2024
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres : JGR
Schlagworte:Journal Article Gaisberg Tower Saentis Tower meteorological reanalysis random forest risk assessment of upward lightning wind turbines
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:© 2023. The Authors.
Upward lightning (UL) has become a major threat to the growing number of wind turbines producing renewable electricity. It can be much more destructive than downward lightning due to the large charge transfer involved in the discharge process. Ground-truth lightning current measurements indicate that less than 50% of UL could be detected by lightning location systems (LLS). UL is expected to be the dominant lightning type during the cold season. However, current standards for assessing the risk of lightning at wind turbines mainly consider summer lightning, which is derived from LLS. This study assesses the risk of LLS-detectable and LLS-undetectable UL at wind turbines using direct UL measurements at instrumented towers. These are linked to meteorological data using random forests. The meteorological drivers for the absence/occurrence of UL are found from these models. In a second step, the results of the tower-trained models are extended to a larger study area (central and northern Germany). The tower-trained models for LLS-detectable lightning are independently verified at wind turbine sites in this area and found to reliably diagnose this type of UL. Risk maps based on cold season case study events show that high probabilities in the study area coincide with actual UL flashes. This lends credibility to the application of the model to all UL types, increasing both risk and affected areas
Beschreibung:Date Revised 30.10.2024
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:2169-897X
DOI:10.1029/2023JD039505