Duke Energy E-Grid Simulator

This facility is home to the eGRID, a 15MW hardware-in-the-loop grid simulator capable of testing and validating the impact of wind energy on the nation’s electrical grid. The scope of work includes renovation, equipment integration, and site infrastructure.

Two independent test rigs, equipped with motor and gearbox drive systems with blade force simulation capabilities are installed. Test Rig #1 weighs as much as a Boeing 787 and has the capability to apply dynamic loads to the main shaft of the specimen drive train, replicating forces and moments along three orthogonal axes, simulating actual blade forces experienced in the field.

The 7.5MW Test Rig #2 applies static off-axis loads to the main shaft of the specimen drive train, replicating forces and moments without dynamic components.

The Duke Energy eGRID (Electrical Grid Research and Innovation and Development) provides wind turbine generator manufacturers a controlled, calibrated environment to test how their machines perform on both 50 Hz and 60 Hz electrical transmission grids. Because true inductance is almost impossible to simulate, researchers are able to replicate realistic fault events on the e-GRID using real air-core conductors.

The eGRID system allows manufacturers to evaluate mechanical and electrical behavior, measure grid compatibility, and simulate disturbances such as fault ride-through conditions without relying solely on field demonstrations.By expanding multi-megawatt testing beyond the wind industry to the broader power conversion market, the eGRID helps manufacturers validate new technologies against increasingly stringent global electrical standards while improving grid reliability, reducing impacts between turbines and the existing grid, and lowering the cost of delivered energy.