On that allegedly "free" wind power, yet another expensive real-world consideration

When Lightning Strikes Wind Turbines II - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com

Due to the proliferation of wind farms and the increasing heights of the turbines — some of them more than 250 feet tall — there is, she noted, a rising number of lightning-related incidents.

Now that the thunderstorm season is rolling around (central Texans were roiled by lightning shows over the weekend), I thought I would share a few pointers.

According to the handbook, wind turbines are particularly complicated to protect because they have so many different components — including non-conducting composite materials like glass-reinforced plastic. Any lightning protection system must therefore be sufficiently comprehensive to take account for all of the parts.

“While physical blade damage is the most expensive and disruptive damage caused by lightning,” the handbook states, “by far the most common is damage to the control system.