"BACKGROUND Financial incentives, such as preferential feed-in tariffs for producers of solar-generated electricity, have supported solar photovoltaic installations in many countries all over the world.The costs of such installations, however, can be high. These include the cost for the photovoltaic array field, which converts sunlight into electric power; for the power inverter, which converts the voltage from direct current to alternating current; and for the low-to-high voltage transformer that connects the system to the distribution grid.If one of these components fails, the repair or replacement costs must be added, in which case, the payback period of the installation owner's investment increases.OBJECTIVES Since failures may occur due to overvoltages and/or overcurrents caused by atmospheric phenomena, i.e., due to the effects of lightning strikes, this paper proposes a way to select lightning protection measures to safeguard photovoltaic systems (PV array fields) from direct or nearby lightning flashes.METHODS The method proposed is based on lightning risk assessment in accordance with the requirements of standard IEC 62305-2.RESULTS On the basis of the extent of the risk posed by lightning, it is suggested to adopt suitable protection measures, which may be drawn from the standards of the IEC 62305 series and from the guide IEC 61173."

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