IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - 36

power grid via two independent medium- and low-voltage
(MV/LV) transformers.
The test facility has been used for comprehensive performance testing of DER equipment as well as qualification
testing to national and international grid codes and standards based on the extensive range of accreditations held by
AIT. Research on procedures for advanced interoperability
testing of single as well as multiple DER units under different grid control schemes supports the integration of DERs
into a future smart grid through standardized communication and coordination among generators, consumers, and
storage units.
figure 7. An inside view of the FPGLab's test area and its
flexible power equipment (source: DNV GL).

AIT Smart Electricity Systems and Technologies
Laboratory Environment (SmartEST)
The AIT SmartEST, located in Vienna, Austria, provides a
multifunctional research, validation, and testing infrastructure allowing the testing of single devices as well as analysis
of the interactions among multiple power system components-especially DER-based inverter systems-and the
power grid under realistic, nearly real-world situations (see
Figure 5). The laboratory includes three configurable threephase LV grids; a high-bandwidth, programmable power
grid simulator; several PV simulators; and an environmental test chamber for emulating various environmental conditions. This permits the validation and testing of DER-based
inverter systems at full power under extreme temperature
and humidity conditions and the investigation of their interactions under various power grid conditions. The facility is
capable of testing inverters, storage units, grid controllers,
and combined heat and power (CHP) units as well as charging stations for electric vehicles in the power range from a
few kilovoltamperes up to 1 MVA.
In addition, SmartEST allows the real-time simulation of
complex power grids and components as well as the coupling of this virtual environment with the laboratory grids.
This kind of HIL setup lets researchers integrate real power
system components into a virtual grid environment and test
them as they interact with the grid under realistic conditions.
Besides the HIL-based integration of power system components, ICT approaches, concepts, and developments can be
integrated into the whole setup, allowing a comprehensive
analysis of smart grid-related topics. The combination of a
state-of-the-art testing infrastructure with HIL-based simulations (i.e., of the power system and ICT infrastructure)
provides cutting-edge testing capabilities for component
manufacturers and network operators.
Figure 6 provides a brief overview of the electrical layout of the laboratory and its components. Designed as a
pure LV research and testing environment, all ac buses are
rated for operation at voltages of up to 480 V (line to line).
The laboratory itself is supplied from the local 20-kV MV
36

ieee power & energy magazine

The Flex Power Grid Lab at DNV GL
The Flex Power Grid Lab (FPGLab) at DNV GL in Arnhem, the Netherlands, provides a research, development,
and testing environment for large-scale, utility-interactive
electrical equipment in a large range of voltage, power, and
bandwidth configurations (see Figure 7). It is well suited for
testing various power electronics systems-in particular,
grid-connected DER systems-both in terms of hardware
and software (the embedded controls and protection) and the
evaluation of their compliance with requirements for grid
integration, power quality, performance, and overall functionality and reliability, as individual components or as part
of a larger system. Where national or international standards
exist, the certification of DER equipment is also possible in
the laboratory facility.
The laboratory infrastructure has been designed so as to
enable a variety of electrical circuits, including the option
to circulate power through the DER unit being tested. In
this way, an efficient test setup is created that is capable
of providing a cost-effective service for prolonged test
durations at high power levels (up to 1  MVA). The laboratory is equipped with flexible resistive (0.5-MW), inductive (1-Mvar), and capacitive (1-Mvar) loads and an extra
connection to the utility grid with an off-load tap changer
(0.4-4.0 kV) to provide maximum flexibility for R&D and
testing (see Figure 8). A fully equipped, state-of-the-art data
acquisition system is provided in the safety of the command
room, which overlooks the laboratory floor where the device
being tested is located.
The capabilities of the lab include creating a programmable grid consisting of a three-phase (plus neutral wire) power
system at line-to-line voltages of up to 24 kV, with bidirectional power-low capability of 1 MVA (in four-quadrant operation), with a fundamental power frequency ranging from dc
to 75 Hz. Dynamic network phenomena such as voltage and
frequency variations can be realized with the ability to include
voltage dips, phase jumps, and rapid voltage changes (see Figure 9). The artificial grid is also capable of coping with unbalanced loads and sources, and researchers can superimpose
harmonic voltages and instigate dynamic network phenomena
so as to evaluate the susceptibility and immunity of equipment
to reduced levels of power quality at the system level.
march/april 2015



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - Cover1
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - Cover2
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - 1
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IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - 96
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - Cover3
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2015 - Cover4
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