Optimal Placement of Magnetic Direction Finders for Locating Lightning-Struck Wind Turbines

With the continued expansion of renewable energy production, the size and density of wind farms have increased by more than 50 percent since the 2000s. This growth poses challenges for reliably detecting and locating lightning strikes within wind parks. Conventional lightning location systems may lack the spatial accuracy required to uniquely identify the struck turbine, and further miss some discharges altogether when return-stroke components are absent or too weak to be detected. At the same time, approaches such as installing current-detecting sensors on every turbine are cost-prohibitive and maintenanceintensive. This work proposes a cost-effective method for deploying a minimum number of sensors to accurately determine which turbine within a wind park was struck by lightning. An optimization approach is also presented to determine the optimal sensor placement within a wind park.