Like many new technologies in the early stages of commercialization, there have been problems to solve. For instance, Zond learned an important lesson from the Texas wind facility: Lightning can wreak havoc with a wind turbine. "The main construction of our wind power plant occurred during the summer, which is our peak lightning season," says Brian Champion, former renewable site supervisor for Central and South West. "We had a generator on one turbine destroyed by lightning before that turbine ever operated. That was a little hint that something was not quite right." Even when the turbines were properly grounded, lightning strikes occasionally damaged motors on the turbine and knocked out communication links between the turbines and the power plant's operations center.

The problem with lightning was not anticipated by the turbine manufacturer based in California, where the Z-40 prototypes were tested. Storms in California are paltry in comparison with the frequent, severe thunderstorms that move across the plains of west Texas during the summer.

"We've done studies of lightning strikes within a 300-mile radius of our wind facility," Champion says. "On occasion, we've seen 300 strikes a minute."

Working with the NWTC and the National Lightning Safety Institute, Central and South West and Zond found ways to alleviate the problem. They worked together to install an electronic lightning protection system in the communications cables and create better grounding around the turbines. Each turbine is now surrounded by an irrigated trench filled with copper straps and bentonite, a highly absorbent type of clay. Since the trenches were installed, the facility has not lost any major equipment such as motors to lightning.

Central and South West's Manager of Technology Development Ward Marshall is excited about solving the lightning problem. "The best lightning/wind energy research center in the world is in Fort Davis, Texas," he boasts. "No one in the world has studied lightning to the degree we have at our wind farm." Thanks to the turbine verification program, utilities throughout the Great Plains will be able to reap the benefits of Central and South West's experience.

The turbine manufacturer also profited from the experience. "The turbine verification program has been very valuable for us," says Dr. Amir Mikhail, vice-president of engineering at Zond. "It allowed us to move quickly from a prototype unit into full production. At the same time, we've been able to see how our machine operates in different environments."