ORE Catapult Seeks Grid Emulation System Provider

Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult is seeking a contractor that can design, supply, deliver, install, test and commission a Grid Emulation System including cabling and containment at its test facility in Blyth, Northumberland, UK.

The research centre is looking to procure a fully containerised Grid Emulation System which will be used in the 15MW wind turbine nacelle/powertrain test facility (i.e. Fujin) and 3MW marine nacelle/powertrain test facility (i.e. Nautilus).

The Grid Emulation System will allow ORE Catapult to conduct electrical power quality test and the possibility of accelerated validation of wind and marine renewable energy devices in a controlled environment which is expected to reduce time to market, improve reliability and mitigate the risks associated with deployment of these devices.

The main requirement is for the Grid Emulation System to accommodate, as a minimum a 13MW wind turbine output. The Grid Emulation System will allow the testing of various wind turbine configurations, such as generator with fully rated grid converter, doubly fed induction generator, synchronous generator without fully rated inverter, etc.

The contract duration is 24 months with options for renewal.

The tender remains open until 31 January 2017.