North American Windpower: Rensselaer Will Create Renewable Energy Test Bed Using NYSTAR's Grant

Rensselaer Will Create Renewable Energy Test Bed Using NYSTAR's Grant

by NAW Staff on Monday 20 November 2006

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., has received a $1.23 million grant from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) to study how the electricity distribution grid might be affected by the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources.

The award is being made through NYSTAR's Centers for Advanced Technology Development Program. It will support the two-year project that is designed to help understand the potential effects of meeting New York state's goal of reaching 25% of power generation through renewable energy sources by 2012. University researchers plan to build a test system on the Rensselaer campus, where they can attach a number of simulated renewable energy sources along with equipment that is susceptible to fluctuations in power output.

According to Nag Patibandla, Rensselaer's Center for Future Energy Systems' (CFES) director, the university is looking "to understand how the distribution grid functions at a high degree of renewable resources penetration."

Researchers at the CFES will be partnering with Sensitron Semiconductor of Deer Park, N.Y.; Inverters Unlimited Inc. of Albany, N.Y.; and Advanced Energy Conversion of Malta, N.Y. The project also will examine policy aspects of renewable resources penetration in partnership with the Pace Energy Project, part of Pace Law School's Center for Environmental Legal Studies.

Latest Top Stories

Study: How Northwest Wind Can Play With Energy Storage And Provide Operational Flexibility

Researchers have identified two possible sites in eastern Washington to build compressed-air energy-storage facilities that could temporarily store the Northwest’s abundant wind resources.

Wind Consortium Deploys Nacelle-Mounted LIDAR At Offshore Site In Irish Sea

In an important development for performance verification for offshore wind sites, a group of companies have deployed a nacelle-mounted LIDAR at DONG Energy's 367 MW Walney Wind Farm.

As U.S. DOJ Investigates, Duke Works Adaptive Management Plan

With previous golden eagle fatalities reported at two company-owned wind farms in Wyoming, Duke Energy Renewables is going to great lengths to protect raptors.

DOE To Recast Landmark 20% Wind Energy Report; Study Looks Back, Ahead

The U.S. Department of Energy will update its 20% Wind Energy By 2030 report, which indicated increased levels of wind penetration for the U.S. is not only possible but feasible.

Wind Energy Procurement Top Of Mind For Big-Name Companies

With greater frequency, top-tier companies are discovering the economic and environmental power of wind energy and upping their investments in the resource.