Discovery by an NPI-led research team could contribute to safer wind turbine operation

A team of researchers led by Martin Kákona from the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in collaboration with experts from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and amateur observers from the Czech Thunderstorm Research Association, has identified a previously undocumented type of winter lightning associated with wind turbines. The newly described phenomenon, named SWAL (Seasonal Wind Turbine-Associated Lightning), could improve our understanding of lightning formation mechanisms and contribute to more effective protection of wind turbines against lightning damage. The study has been published in the prestigious international journal Atmospheric Research. According to the authors, this is the first systematic description of this type of lightning in scientific literature.

The study shows that, under specific winter meteorological conditions, wind turbines can play a significant role in the formation of this previously undescribed type of lightning. A better understanding of the phenomenon could improve lightning risk assessment and support the development of more effective lightning protection systems for wind turbines.

"Despite nearly three centuries of research, the formation of lightning remains one of the unresolved problems in atmospheric physics. The newly described phenomenon provides a unique 'natural laboratory' in which lightning can be studied. Investigating these boundary conditions may help us better understand the mechanisms behind lightning formation in general, not only in the vicinity of wind turbines," says Martin Kákona, lead author of the study from the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

A new type of winter lightning

The discovery is the result of long-term research into ionising radiation generated in thunderstorm clouds. Unusual winter lightning near wind farms was first reported by amateur observers from the Czech Thunderstorm Research Association in 2018 and 2019. However, systematic analysis only became possible in 2021 thanks to the availability of data from the Blitzortung lightning detection network. The researchers subsequently analysed four years of observations (2021–2024), combining Blitzortung data with records from the ENTLN lightning detection network, weather radar data provided by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, and electric field measurements. This enabled them to identify a recurring phenomenon, which they named SWAL (Seasonal Wind Turbine-Associated Lightning).

These lightning events share several common characteristics: they occur almost exclusively in the immediate vicinity of wind turbines, have negative polarity, and appear during winter weather situations with temperatures just above freezing as clouds carrying a strong negative electric charge pass overhead.

Data for the research were provided, among others, by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Researchers from the institute also analysed the meteorological conditions under which the electrical discharges occurred. "We analysed the characteristics of the cloud cover, its vertical extent and temperature. We also determined the type of hydrometeors in different parts of the cloud," explained Zbyněk Sokol from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who specialises in modelling electric fields in clouds.

Benefits for science and the energy sector

A better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for these winter lightning events could ultimately contribute to more effective protection of wind turbines against lightning damage.

"This research originally began as fundamental science, but it may ultimately have unexpectedly far-reaching practical implications. Previous studies have shown that during the approximately twenty-year service life of a wind turbine, it typically sustains two to three lightning-related damage events," adds Ondřej Ploc, co-author of the study and director of the CRREAT project, under which the research was carried out.

About the Study

Authors: M. Kákona, R. Duspara, Z. Sokol, J. Popová, J. Chum, J. Šlégl, M. Sommer, M. Lužová, R. Dvořák, V. Hanousek, J. Kákona, A. Kostinsky, I. Ambrožová, O. Ploc

Journal: Atmospheric Research (Elsevier), a leading international journal in the field of atmospheric sciences

Institutions: Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Technical University in Prague, Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA), Czech Thunderstorm Research Association. 

Article: sciencedirect.com/.../S0169809526004266

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