Wind turbines provide us with renewable energy that relies on nature, rather than fossil fuels, to reap the benefits. Yet, due to the height of the structures and location, wind turbines can attract lightning that result in fires, downtime and damaged electronics.
In order to fully gain the rewards of renewable energy produced by wind turbines, engineers must consider a Lightning protection system to ward off hazards.
LEC offers a full line of lightning protection systems and solutions to help protect wind turbines. Our products include air terminal, down connectors, grounding rod, and surge protection products.
Here we discuss grounding solutions for wind turbines
A well designed grounding system serves to:
- Establish an effective reference to earth potential for normal operation of - electrical & communication equipment - controls - protective devices (circuit breakers, fuses)
- Limit voltage differences to values that will not cause undue hazards to personnel and equipment
- Protect the wind turbine against lightning damage
- Limit galvanic corrosion due to dissimilar metals
Our grounding products include exothermically welded connections (LECWELD), clamps, ground/earth testers (Smart Ground), Ground Enhancement Material (GAF) and grounding rod (Chem-Rod).
- LECWELD
The LECWELD molecular bonding process is superior in performance to any known mechanical or compression-type surface-to-surface contact connector.
- Smart Ground
The ground testers are ideal for determining soil resistivity prior to designing the wind turbine foundation ground system
- GAF
GAF is a low-resistance carbon concrete that improves grounding effectiveness in areas of poor conductivity
- Chem-Rod
LEC is the world’s largest manufacturer of copper-bonded grounding rod and offers a wide range of accessories
Site location is critical to capture the wind and often involves areas of high soil resistivity. The increasing height of newer wind turbines enhances the threat of lightning strikes. Proper design and integrity of a grounding grid facilitates long-term safety and operation of any wind turbine site during both lightning and fault current events. Our brand of grounding rod for wind turbine blades are designed and manufactured to meet or exceed OEM specifications. Our application engineering team can analyse and provide grounding system design, solution and products for tower and power substation grounding.
Years of experience in the fields of grounding and bonding, lightning protection, combined with global manufacturing capabilities, allow LEC to provide comprehensive solutions for the wind energy industry.