Protecting Wind Turbines From Lightning

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Photo: wxguardwind.com
As readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of wind power as it currently stands. However, that will change if cheap storage becomes available and if we find better ways of protecting wind farms from lightning, ice, (ironically) high winds and other forms of extreme weather. The current generation of wind turbines is surprisingly delicate.
An expensive helicopter used to de-ice a
wind turbine in Canada.
There is good news with regard to wind turbines and lightning mitigation. Wichita State University has developed a way to protect the turbines when they are struck.
Wichita State researcher Billy Martin works on a Kansas wind turbine
Wichita State's system for protecting wind turbines is an outgrowth research done by its National Institute for Aviation Research. After all, a turbine blade is similar to an aircraft wing or an airplane's propeller.

I am hopeful all of this will add up to meaningful progress in the field of wind energy so it is a useful source of reasonably-priced energy without subsidies.

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