Lightning-Induced Current on Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Abstract:
Lightning is one of the major reasons for failures in PV panels. Lightning-induced current and voltage pulses may directly damage the PV panel or the inverter circuit. Knowledge of induced current parameters is crucial in designing protection for solar PV systems. This study recorded and analyzed lightning-induced currents on solar panels to understand the parameters of the induced currents. Common mode-induced current pulses were measured at both ground (GD) and cloud discharges (CD) from November to December 2023. Peak current, front time, and steepness were studied. According to the results, lightning-induced current parameters follow a lognormal distribution. The highest peak currents were gained for ground discharges. The peak current shows a strong positive correlation with three parameters: steepness (10-90%), charge transferred and prospective energy for both GD and CD-induced currents. Solar panel induced high peaked current pulses for the close GD flashes. The peak current diminished when the striking distance increased. Further investigations should be conducted to compare our data since natural lightning-induced currents are not measured with solar PV systems.