1-413-743-9933
SHINE · 25 Print Works Drive · Adams, MA 01220

Turbine Triggers Lightning During Snow Storm

This terrific video from the UK shows a wind turbine triggering a lightning strike during a snow storm. Snow storms can create a significant amount of charge in the storm clouds. All that is needed to trigger lightning is a tall object. From the still photos of the event, shown below, it is evident that the lightning event started from the turbine and traveled up to the clouds. Hopefully the turbines were not...

Lightning destroys turbine blade

The town Conneaut, Ohio has been without its wind turbine since August when a lightning strike damaged on of the blades. The turbine was used to power the town’s waste treatment plant. The turbine is now being repaired and the local newspaper photographed the damage to the blade (see below). Unfortunately, lightning damage to turbine blades is pretty common. Using simple lightning protection devices like WXGuard lightning diverters help reduce the likelihood of damage to turbine blades. See the full news article here: wind turbine damage...

Vestas develops stealthy wind turbines

Vestas and Qinetiq have successfully deployed a stealthy wind turbine that has a low radar signature. Existing wind turbines have a large radar signature and can interfere with weather and air traffic radar systems. Through careful placement of RF absorbing “stealthy” materials, the RF signature was greatly reduced. Read the full article here: Stealthy Turbines...

Japan’s wind turbines threatened by lightning

The Mainchi News in Japan has a news article discussing the difficulty that Japanese wind turbine sites are having with lightning. The article quotes wind turbine manufacturer Mitsubishi who is doubling the number of receptors on their blades to help reduce lightning damage. The coastline on the Sea of Japan has a high lightning strike rate and wind turbines along this coast definitely need extra protection. Adding WXGuard lightning diverters to Mitsubishi’s existing lightning receptors would greatly improve the performance of the lightning receptors and help reduce damage! You can read the full article here:Mainchi News...

Lesotho Invests $15bn in Wind and Water Energy Program

The country of Lesotho, in southern Africa, is investing $15 billion in wind and water energy programs to generate up to 10,000 MW of power. Most of the country is located a mile above sea-level and has one the highest lightning strikes rates in the world. Hopefully the wind turbines incorporate a good lightning protection scheme. See the news article from The Guardian here: Guardian...

Case Western Researchers Build Tougher Wind Turbine Blades

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a toughened wind turbine blade that uses polyurethane and carbon nanotubes. The results was a much lighter, more resilient blade. The addition of the carbon nanotubes would make the blade somewhat conductive and attractive to lightning. This will be a significant difficulty as the research progresses forwards. See the articles here: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110830102159.htm...