Factoring Surge Protection Into Wind Power
Read More: https://www.raycap.com/wind-turbines-and-lightning/
There are numerous issues with wind power which make it difficult to discuss as the obvious choice for primary power source consideration. Wind power has existed for many years as an add on to the power grids and production methods that use fossil fuels or hydropower to create their product. Wind is not always available in order to turn the turbines, the way that fossil fuels can continually be fed into burners. While the prices of fossil fuels may fluctuate higher and lower, they are always available as a method of producing the motion within turbines to produce electricity. With wind power, if there is no wind available it is not like more can be purchased at a higher price. This is why it is so critical that as much electricity as possible is produced while the wind is blowing, and stored or sent to the power grid in order to increase the capacities using this free fuel source. The power that is produced during heavy wind can then be stored for longer time frames through increases in battery capacities and new technologies which are being developed constantly. This is not the only issue that needs to be faced and corrected however. We need to increase the capacities while the wind is blowing by avoiding the damage that can take wind turbines offline during these times. We have not yet realized the full capacities that can be achieved, because our technology is still improving in this area.
Wind power production can be increased through the use of better more robust systems in the field, and by the integration of electrical surge protection solutions. The wind power production systems can be improved through the use of better composite materials in places where lightning is most likely to strike, and by avoiding damage from the lightning power surges that come after those strikes. The blades of wind turbines are made from composite materials so as not to be able to effectively conduct electricity the way metal does. These are more easily destroyed by lightning strikes as a result. The power surges that move through the structures and systems along connectivity cables will damage the components that are directly connected one another, so through the integration of surge protection devices along these critical pathways the amount of surge-related damage can be limited.. Once the systems are brought to a minimal level of expected damage as a result of an inevitable lightning strike, the systems can be restored to functionality faster. This enables more power to be produced during the times when we would expect outages due to system failures. When you look at production costs in macro, you realize that every second that a system can be functional beyond the expectation will increase the viability of wind power as a whole. We will eventually have less expensive and cleaner power, produced in part by the avoidance techniques that surge protection systems provide. Wind power and solar will one-day be our primary methods, and technological advancement is the key to achieving this state.
