Published

4 months ago

July 1, 2025

Alice Rush

Case Study: How StrikeTape Transformed Wind Operations On Japan’s Lightning-Prone Coast

Zero Lightning Damage in 8 Months

A major wind farm operation located along the Sea of Japan coastline experienced devastating lightning damage. Frequent strikes damaged wind turbine blades, causing unscheduled downtime and emergency repairs. The operator turned to Weather Guard Lightning Tech’s StrikeTape technology for a solution. The results were clear: in the eight months following installation, the turbines experienced zero blade damage, compared to 249 lightning strikes and 12 severely damaged blades in the previous period.

The Challenge: Sea of Japan Coastline Lightning Environment

The Sea of Japan coastline is one of the world’s most challenging lightning environments for wind energy operations. This region experiences frequent lightning strikes throughout the year, with particularly severe storms during winter months. The combination of maritime weather patterns and topographical features creates what meteorologists describe as large positive lightning strikes with 100+ kiloamperes of continuing current – some of the most destructive lightning conditions on Earth.

Mounting Damage Threatened Wind Project’s Profitability

Before identifying and implementing the StrikeTape solution, the wind farm was experiencing frequent, catastrophic lightning-related damage. It was obvious that the turbine’s built-in LPS wasn’t protecting the equipment.

249 confirmed lightning strikes to turbines over the monitoring period
12 turbine blades suffered severe damage requiring extensive repairs or replacement
Repeated damage to blade trailing edges from lightning strikes
Operations frequently disrupted by emergency repairs and safety inspections
Mounting maintenance costs threatened project profitability

The facility was caught in a vicious cycle: lightning would strike, blades would suffer damage, operations would halt for repairs, and the cycle would repeat. Operations managers onsite identified StrikeTape as a potential solution.

Evaluating StrikeTape Lightning Protection Solution Technology

Owing to both its design features and technical specifications, Weather Guard Lightning Tech’s StrikeTape represents a breakthrough in wind turbine lightning protection. Unlike traditional systems that rely on bulky receptors and down conductors, StrikeTape uses advanced conductive polymer technology and materials that integrate seamlessly with turbine blade surfaces.

Key technical features the operations team considered included StrikeTape’s use of advanced materials that had been rain-erosion and high-current tested. They also considered that similar designs and materials have been approved for use in commercial, private and military aircraft, and field tested in aviation, for more than 30 years.

Advanced Materials:

Gold-plated and reinforced construction for maximum conductivity
Aerospace-grade substrate for long-term durability
Only 1mm thick profile for minimal aerodynamic impact
10mm width for optimal lightning attachment

Installation Advantages: Simple, Efficient Process

StrikeTape’s professional installation process is efficient, and can be completed by a technician up tower or when the blade is on the ground for other maintenance, such as during a repowering project or scheduled repair. The typical installation expectation is:

10 minutes per blade for application
12 blades per day installation capacity
45 minute total installation time for complete turbine protection
13 feet of StrikeTape per blade application

The installation process offers significant advantages over traditional lightning protection systems, including:

Minimal Downtime: Quick installation during routine maintenance windows
No Structural Modifications: No drilling or permanent alterations to blade structure
Scalable Application: Can be applied to existing turbines without major retrofitting
Immediate Protection: Full lightning protection active immediately upon installation

Remarkable Results: Complete Elimination of Lightning Damage

The transformation was immediate and dramatic. Over eight months of intensive monitoring following StrikeTape installation, the results exceeded all expectations. Although strike activity remained high, the turbines experienced no lightning damage.

Strike Activity: Still High, Damage: Zero

96 lightning strikes recorded hitting turbines during the 8-month, post-installation monitoring period
0 blades damaged despite continued lightning activity
Zero lightning-related downtime since installation completion

The data tells a compelling story: lightning didn’t stop striking the turbines, but the devastating damage completely disappeared.

Visual Inspection: Evidence of Protection

Post-installation inspections revealed clear evidence of StrikeTape’s effectiveness:

Visible signs of lightning strikes along the StrikeTape trailing edges
Lightning receptors melted along the radius between tip and trailing edge, exactly where designed
StrikeTape remains intact and continues providing protection
No structural blade damage despite direct lightning attachment

This visual evidence confirms that StrikeTape is successfully attracting and safely conducting lightning strikes away from vulnerable blade structures.

The Technology Behind the Success: How it Works

StrikeTape’s effectiveness stems from its innovative approach to lightning protection: Rather than trying to prevent lightning strikes, the system provides preferred attachment points and safe conduction paths.

Lightning Attraction: The conductive polymer material creates preferred attachment points for lightning
Safe Conduction: Strikes are safely conducted along the StrikeTape pathway
Energy Dissipation: Lightning energy is harmlessly directed away from blade structures
Continued Protection: The system remains functional even after multiple strikes

Beyond Damage Prevention: Operational Excellence

While the primary goal of the StrikeTape installation was to eliminate lightning damage at the wind farm, benefits extended beyond reducing downtime and repair expenditures.

Operational Reliability

More Predictable Maintenance Schedules as lightning-related emergency repairs were eliminated
Improved Equipment Availability and Production because turbines remained in operation during storm seasons
Enhanced Safety Record due to reduced risk to maintenance personnel

Financial Impact

Reduced Repair Costs: No blade replacement or major lightning repairs
Reduced Insurance Claims: Improved risk profile with potential of premium reductions
Revenue Protection: Maintained power generation during peak wind season

Long-Term Asset Protection

Extended Blade Life: Protection from cumulative lightning damage
Maintained Performance: No aerodynamic degradation from lightning damage
Asset Value Preservation: Protected investment in wind generation assets

Lessons for the Global Wind Industry

This case study provides valuable insights for wind operators worldwide, even if they face a less challenging lightning environment. The remarkable success of this StrikeTape installation on Japan’s high-intensity lightning-prone coast demonstrates that advanced lightning protection technology like StrikeTape can fundamentally change how the wind industry approaches lightning risk.

Lightning Doesn’t Have to Mean Damage

The traditional assumption that lightning strikes inevitably cause turbine damage has been proven false. With proper protection technology, turbines can safely handle direct lightning strikes without operational impact.

Quick Implementation of Retrofit Solution Can Yield Immediate Results

Unlike major infrastructure upgrades, advanced lightning protection can be implemented quickly during routine maintenance, providing immediate operational benefits.

Investment Protection Pays Dividends

The cost of proactive lightning protection is minimal compared to the ongoing expense of lightning damage repairs and operational disruptions.

As wind farms continue expanding into lightning-prone regions worldwide, this Japanese installation provides a roadmap for operational success in even the most challenging environments.

The Bottom Line

Eight months of operation with zero lightning damage despite 96 lightning strikes represented more than just technical success; for the wind farm operators in this challenging lightning environment, it was an operational transformation. The lesson for wind projects is clear: lightning is inevitable, but lightning damage is preventable.

For more information about StrikeTape lightning protection technology and installation services, contact Weather Guard Wind at 1.413.217.1139 or info@wglightning.com.

About Weather Guard Wind: Weather Guard Wind specializes in advanced lightning protection solutions for wind energy applications, with installations protecting turbines worldwide in the most challenging lightning environments.

https://weatherguardwind.com/case-study-how-striketape-transformed-wind-operations-on-japans-lightning-prone-coast/

Renewable Energy

CDC Investigates Offshore Wind in the US

Published

7 hours ago

November 3, 2025

Alice Rush

Weather Guard Lightning Tech

CDC Investigates Offshore Wind in the US

The CDC is investigating offshore wind farms and Virginia Wind has paused blade installations, while the rest of the world installs and benefits from offshore wind.

Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

There’s trouble brewing off America’s Atlantic coast. But it’s not coming from beneath the waves.

A few weeks ago, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JUNIOR issued unusual marching orders. He directed the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL to investigate offshore wind farms. The reason? Alleged threats to whales and fishing businesses.

The investigation would focus on electromagnetic frequencies from undersea cables. Wind proponents say these frequencies are harmless. But KENNEDY had his concerns.

KENNEDY met personally with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health director JOHN HOWARD. He provided a list of specific experts to contact. The mission: complete the investigation within two months.

Now, you might wonder why a health secretary would suddenly become concerned about wind turbines.

KENNEDY, once a prominent environmental lawyer, fought for years against a wind project off the coast of MASSACHUSETTS. That project just happened to be near the Kenendy family’s compound. During the twenty twenty-four presidential campaign, he called offshore wind quote “a catastrophe.”

If you haven’t heard, the US administration has halted billions of dollars worth of offshore wind projects.

But here’s what the administration didn’t mention.

Wildlife veterinarian JENNIFER BLOODGOOD performs whale necropsies for NEW YORK STATE and CORNELL WILDLIFE HEALTH LAB. In her experience, about half the humpback whales in good enough condition to examine show signs of vessel strikes or human interaction. The minke whales? They’re dying from a common infection called brucella [brew-SELL-uh].

“There is currently no evidence that wind energy is influencing whale strandings,” BLOODGOOD reports.

Three active mortality events are happening for whales in the Atlantic. But these events involve clusters of deaths that experts consider unusual for reasons that have nothing to do with turbines. The scientific consensus is clear: no evidence links wind farms to whale deaths.

BLOODGOOD has even examined dolphin ear bones under microscopes and CT scans, looking for trauma from surveying sound waves. She found nothing.

“When a whale strands, there’s a huge effort that goes into responding and figuring out why it died,” she explains. “Many people’s job is to go out and figure out what’s happening.”

While AMERICA retreats from offshore wind, CHINA is doubling down. The nation aims to add at least one hundred twenty gigawatts of new wind power capacity annually from twenty twenty-six to twenty thirty. That’s more than twice AMERICA’s goal from twenty twenty.

CHINA’s total installed wind power capacity targets one point three terawatts by twenty thirty and at least two terawatts by twenty thirty-five.

At DOMINION ENERGY’s Virginia wind project, there’s a different kind of delay. The CHARYBDIS [kuh-RIB-dis], a massive twenty-three-thousand-ton ship that took five years and seven hundred million dollars to build, sits at the PORTSMOUTH MARINE TERMINAL. It can’t begin installing turbine blades yet. Quality assurance items need addressing.

The one hundred seventy-six turbine project off the coast of VIRGINIA BEACH would power six hundred sixty thousand homes. Its cost has risen to eleven point two billion dollars, up from nine point eight billion, partly due to tariffs.

So while AMERICA investigates phantom threats, the CHARYBDIS waits at the dock. CHINA races ahead with ambitious targets. And whales continue dying from boat strikes and fishing gear entanglement, just as they have for decades.

The US administration canceled funding for two programs that used aerial surveys and underwater listening devices to track whale populations. The very programs that could definitively show what’s really happening to these magnificent creatures.

https://weatherguardwind.com/cdc-investigates-offshore/

Renewable Energy

Within Christianity, the Battle Rages On

Published

11 hours ago

November 3, 2025

Alice Rush

As we all know, there has been a battle being fought for hundreds of years between the Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus and the hateful warmonger hypocrites. Yet seldom has this been expressed any more beautifully than what Rev. Benjamin Cremer wrote at the left.

Within Christianity, the Battle Rages On

Renewable Energy

Sad Day

Published

12 hours ago

November 2, 2025

Alice Rush

It’s an even sadder day when the President of the United States defies the court order, like he’s done so many times in the past, re: deportations, the deployment of the military against U.S. citizens, etc.