ORE Catapult has contracted GE Power Conversion UK to provide a grid emulation system for the Blyth testing facility in Northumberland.
The £4m contract will see GE design, supply, deliver, install, test and commission the new system – including cabling and containment.
The grid emulation system will be used for electrical power quality tests at the 15MW wind and 3MW marine nacelles and powertrain facilities.
The main requirement of the system is to accommodate a minimum 13MW wind turbine output. It will also allow different wind turbine configurations, including doubly fed induction and synchronous generators without fully rated inverter to be tested.
The test centre will fund the new hardware through a mixture of public and private funds.
It is hoped the system will improve reliability, mitigate the risks associated with the deployment of devices and reduce time to market by allowing for the accelerated validation of wind and marine renewable energy devices in a controlled environment, ORE Catapult said.
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