[RE-wrenches] Extensive Lightning Damage to Modules

[Jeff Irish]

A customer of ours has recently suffered lightning damage to 31 out of 160 top of pole mounted modules.  This is the first time in 10 years that I've seen modules damaged by lightning.  Lots of inverter GF fuses and a few inverters, but never modules.  We're trying to determine if it was caused by the lightning flash irradiating the modules or ground currents.

The array consists of 16 DP&W top of pole mounts with 10 modules each, arranged in a square of 4 poles E-W and 4 rows N-S.  The poles are 13 feet center to center E-W and the N-S row spacing is about 50 feet.  The poles are 6 inch galvanized Technoposts, augured 5 - 7 feet into the firm ground, connected with a network of about 160 feet of bare #6 copper and at least 8 copper plated ground rods.  Altogether we have about 130 square feet of bare metal surface area connected and buried in the ground at and around the array.

The customer saw lightning strike just after dawn a few weeks ago a couple hundred feet to the southwest where it also destroyed two utility pole mount distribution transformers and ran along the utility wires 100 feet south of the array.  The inverters are 200 feet NW and suffered no damage.  The array and modules look totally fine, except some of the J-boxes are deformed from heat.  Opening the J-boxes shows varying levels of damage to one or more diodes, from discoloration to being broken and cracked open.

The odd thing is the pattern of damage (we've tested all the modules individually for Voc and Isc).  Only modules in the south row of 4 poles are damaged, and the damage is concentrated on the modules closest to the ground; modules higher up in the air appear OK.  Also, damage is less frequent as you move east, away from the direction of the strike.

If it was caused by ground currents, why would the current want to go up the poles, why only the southern row of poles, and why damage more modules closer to the ground and not those at the top?  Is it possible a flash near the ground irradiated the modules causing a current spike and the southern row shielded the other rows from most of the flash?  Anyone have experience with this?


Jeff Irish, PE
President
Hudson Solar
13 Hook Road
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
T.845.876.3767x110
F.845.876.3912
jeff at hudsonsolar.com<mailto:jeff at hudsonsolar.com>
Solar Electric Systems
NYSERDA Eligible PV Installer
NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer
NABCEP Certified PV Technical Sales
HudsonSolar.com<applewebdata://B5F2562A-2B67-4161-84E4-42F12DC28720/www.hudsonsolar.com>
2011 NYSERDA Excellence in Quality Award | 2011 NYSEIA Award Winner | 2009 Best of the Hudson Valley | 2008 SunPower Dealer of the Year | EDC Business Excellence Award for Innovation

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