ANALYSIS OF WIND TURBINE GROUNDING SYSTEMS IN TERMS OF TOUCH AND STEP VOLTAGES

Power generation from renewable resources is increasingly growing. The numbers of wind turbines and wind farms are increasing as well. Wind turbines and wind farms require grounding systems in order to protect the living creatures and turbine components from fault current and lightning current. This study uses grounding systems consisting of conductors and electrodes with different and asymmetric depths of embedment as well as a non-homogenous two-layer soil model. By employing this model, it examines the effect of the reinforcement of the grounding system of a wind turbine on the step and touch voltages. Then, it examines the grounding system of a wind farm consisting of several wind turbines.