Multiple wind turbines shielding model of lightning attractiveness for mountain wind farms

•The quantitative relationship between terrain and lightning collection area was obtained using simplified SLIM.•The obvious nonlinear relationship between the lightning collection area and the lightning current was obtained.•The obvious saturation trend in the LCA with increase in ground slope angle was obtained. Moreover, increase in the lightning current makes the saturation trend of the lightning collection area more obvious.•The terrain makes lightning collection areas of multiple wind turbines have various overlapping relationships in space. The overlapping relationships were quantitatively analyzed and the differentiated lightning attractiveness of the mountainous wind farm was evaluated by the multi-wind turbine shielding model.