Lightning Electromagnetic Transient Modeling of Photovoltaic Systems

Photovoltaic power plants are commonly constructed in open and unobstructed areas, where they are exposed to a high risk of lightning strikes. As a key protective component that ensures the safe operation of PV cells, the bypass diode is highly susceptible to damage from lightning-induced surges, which may subsequently interrupt power generation. This study proposes a modeling approach suitable for electromagnetic transient analysis of lightning in PV systems. The proposed model is experimentally validated in the laboratory, and the results show that the average amplitude error between the calculated and measured induced voltages of PV modules is 8.11%, with a root-mean-square error of 1.74 V.