13Nov 2015 
An impressive nacelle test rig
In this lab, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology is setting new standards for the testing of nacelles for wind turbines. In an area only the size of half a football pitch, it simulates the grid capacity needed to supply a small town.
© Fraunhofer IWES; Bierthe/PtJ
From the outside, it looks like an oversized washing machine. Inside, the shed, as high as a house, is a top-notch test rig: in the DyNaLab in Bremerhaven, especially efficient and powerful nacelles for wind turbines can be tested in realistic conditions without the need for cumbersome field tests. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has provided more than 19 million euros of funding towards the project.
Bigger in Bremerhaven
DyNaLab stands for "Dynamic Nacelle Testing Laboratory". It was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology and sets new standards for the testing of next-generation wind energy installations. Nowhere else in the world can you find test labs with an electrical drive power of ten megawatts and a grid simulator capable of supplying a small town. And yet the 2,000 square meter site is less than half the size of a football pitch.
DyNaLab is making it possible to do something that many wind energy manufacturers have wanted for ages. So far, they have needed to develop a specific prototype for each new wind turbine, costing them valuable time. In DyNaLab, the prototype phase can be greatly speeded up.
Safeguarding competitiveness
The tests in the new rig are for example good at testing the quality of new, increasingly efficient wind turbines. And DyNaLab can respond to the fact that manufacturers are developing new equipment designs at an increasingly fast pace. Thanks to the new test facilities, quality-approved new wind energy installations are coming on to the market. This boosts the competitiveness of quality-aware manufacturers on the world market and fosters the development of efficient, low-cost and reliable wind turbines.
Energy research is a strategic element of the energy policy of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The German government is therefore using the 6th Energy Research Programme to help companies and research establishments to research and develop technologies for the energy supply of tomorrow.