Investigation of lightning surge effects on a grid-connected PV plant

This paper investigates the indirect effects of lightning on a medium-scale photovoltaic plant. The purpose of the investigation is to analyse the surge effects on the photovoltaic plant and interconnected systems in order to develop an understanding of the associated risk of damage to the plant and ascertain the requirements for lightning protection. The investigated plant consists of four photovoltaic arrays, each comprising 2500 modules connected in series-parallel configurations, with inverters and connection to the high voltage transmission grid via a system of parallel buses, insulated power cables and power transformers. The presented study makes use of the electro-magnetic transient program-restructured version (EMTP-RV) software platform to investigate induced effects of lightning on grid-connected PV systems and provide system designers with a means of analysing and mitigating lightning risk. Results obtained show significant risk associated to voltage rise of 7.4% on the DC side and 1.2 p.u on the AC side.