NYSERDA grant to fund partnership on solar, wind testing

CORTLAND — A coalition of companies and universities is aiming to make New York a hub for testing equipment for solar and wind-power generation.

The group will use a $4.2 million grant from the New York Energy Research and Development Authority to establish labs for testing of wind and solar equipment at Clarkson University and a site in Cortland. The group is led by London–based Intertek (LSE: ITRK), which provides testing, inspection, and certification services.

The accredited solar-testing site will be at Intertek’s Cortland location. The wind-testing lab, which will focus on blades for small and mid-size wind turbines, will be located at Clarkson University in Potsdam.

Other partners in the initiative, known as the Center for Evaluation of Clean Energy Technology (CeCeT), include AWS TruePower of Albany, the Rochester Institute of Technology, Alfred State College, and Binghamton University.

While the new labs will be key components of the effort, CeCeT is also meant to help new companies and inventors with more than just testing. Organizers say they want to help connect entrepreneurs and startups with universities’ resources that can help them move their ideas forward.

“That’s the bridge that CeCeT creates,” says Sunny Rai, regional vice president for renewable energy at Intertek. “It’s not just the two facilities. It’s access to all those other universities’ expertise and equipment.”

Rai says Intertek’s customers were asking for that kind of help and it’s something the company wouldn’t be able to provide without its partners.

A facility for testing blades on larger turbines exists in Boston, but there isn’t a comparable lab in existence for smaller blades, says Brian Kramak, senior project manager at AWS TruePower, which provides consulting services for the renewable-energy industry. Having the small-blade lab located in New York will be a draw for companies working in the space, which Kramak says is growing.

The equipment needed to test the blades for durability and other qualities is expensive, Kramak adds, and not something most manufacturers would invest in on their own. The presence of the lab at Clarkson could help bring companies to New York, he says.

Testing isn’t yet required for smaller blades, but manufacturers are interested because it helps set them apart from the field, says David Gower, CeCeT executive director. In addition, the solar lab in Cortland will be the only site on the East Coast that can provide certifications for the equipment it tests.

“That is a great advantage for New York state,” Gower says.

The group has plans for other testing facilities as well.

Originally included in the proposal to NYSERDA and still tentatively planned for CeCeT is a “tall tower” facility, Kramak says. The tower would help manufacturers verify that remote-sensing equipment used in measuring wind speeds is working as expected.

There’s interest in remote-sensing technology from offshore wind projects in particular, Kramak says. The equipment uses lasers or sound waves to measure winds without erecting a large, sensor-laden tower.

The tall tower testing site would allow developers to compare the remote sensors with their more traditional counterparts.

Gower says CeCeT is looking to bring in other university partners. Organizers want to add as much experience and as many capabilities to the center as possible, he says

CORTLAND — A coalition of companies and universities is aiming to make New York a hub for testing equipment for solar and wind-power generation.

The group will use a $4.2 million grant from the New York Energy Research and Development Authority to establish labs for testing of wind and solar equipment at Clarkson University and a site in Cortland. The group is led by London–based Intertek (LSE: ITRK), which provides testing, inspection, and certification services.

The accredited solar-testing site will be at Intertek’s Cortland location. The wind-testing lab, which will focus on blades for small and mid-size wind turbines, will be located at Clarkson University in Potsdam.

Other partners in the initiative, known as the Center for Evaluation of Clean Energy Technology (CeCeT), include AWS TruePower of Albany, the Rochester Institute of Technology, Alfred State College, and Binghamton University.

While the new labs will be key components of the effort, CeCeT is also meant to help new companies and inventors with more than just testing. Organizers say they want to help connect entrepreneurs and startups with universities’ resources that can help them move their ideas forward.

“That’s the bridge that CeCeT creates,” says Sunny Rai, regional vice president for renewable energy at Intertek. “It’s not just the two facilities. It’s access to all those other universities’ expertise and equipment.”

Rai says Intertek’s customers were asking for that kind of help and it’s something the company wouldn’t be able to provide without its partners.

A facility for testing blades on larger turbines exists in Boston, but there isn’t a comparable lab in existence for smaller blades, says Brian Kramak, senior project manager at AWS TruePower, which provides consulting services for the renewable-energy industry. Having the small-blade lab located in New York will be a draw for companies working in the space, which Kramak says is growing.

The equipment needed to test the blades for durability and other qualities is expensive, Kramak adds, and not something most manufacturers would invest in on their own. The presence of the lab at Clarkson could help bring companies to New York, he says.

Testing isn’t yet required for smaller blades, but manufacturers are interested because it helps set them apart from the field, says David Gower, CeCeT executive director. In addition, the solar lab in Cortland will be the only site on the East Coast that can provide certifications for the equipment it tests.

“That is a great advantage for New York state,” Gower says.

The group has plans for other testing facilities as well.

Originally included in the proposal to NYSERDA and still tentatively planned for CeCeT is a “tall tower” facility, Kramak says. The tower would help manufacturers verify that remote-sensing equipment used in measuring wind speeds is working as expected.

There’s interest in remote-sensing technology from offshore wind projects in particular, Kramak says. The equipment uses lasers or sound waves to measure winds without erecting a large, sensor-laden tower.

The tall tower testing site would allow developers to compare the remote sensors with their more traditional counterparts.

Gower says CeCeT is looking to bring in other university partners. Organizers want to add as much experience and as many capabilities to the center as possible, he says