Field Testing and Demonstration of Solar Systems

Field testing and demonstrations provide valuable information on how solar systems will perform in actual outdoor environments. Systems in the field enable testing of a variety of measures important to grid integration, including voltage and frequency regulation, spinning reserve, and customer peak-load reduction.

Within the Systems Integration subprogram, this work is led by teams at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Team members continue to work with utilities, systems integrators, and project developers to determine a variety of specific field testing sites pertinent to high-penetration scenarios.

Field Locations

Photo of two rows of tilted single-axis solar trackers, which are mounted on the ground. Each row includes dozens of trackers.

The Systems Integration team collects performance data on the 15-megawatt photovoltaic system at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Courtesy of SunPower

Aerial photo of the 1.2-megawatt photovoltaic system on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. Pictured is the sun glinting off of a portion of the total 12 photovoltaic arrays that have more than 7,000 panels.

This solar farm on the island of Lanai is supported by the experts on the Systems Integration team. The 1.2-megawatt photovoltaic system covers 10 acres and includes 12 arrays of more than 7,000 panels and a tracker system.

Photo of multiple rows of one-axis tracking photovoltaic panels at the photovoltaic power plant near Alamosa, Colorado. The Rocky Mountains are pictured in the background. Numerous rows of PV arrays are pictured in the foreground.

The Alamosa PV Plant generates about 8.2 MW of power.
Credit: Steve Wilcox, NREL

Various locations around the country have already been identified as sites for data gathering, field testing, and demonstrations. The following locations are supported by the Systems Integration team and are monitored to evaluate the interactions of these field testing sites with the electric power grid.

Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

Nellis Air Force Base installed a 15-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The Systems Integration team is collecting the solar energy performance data. The array is expected to supply the base with more than 25% of the total power used by the base population of about 12,000 people.

Lanai, Kauai, and Honolulu, Hawaii

The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative was created to help the state achieve its goal of obtaining 70% of its energy from renewables by 2030. The Systems Integration team is supporting three solar projects in Hawaii. In the first project, engineering support is provided to the island of Lanai for installing a 1.2-MW PV system with energy storage. The second project involves helping the island of Kauai develop a roadmap to accelerate the integration of renewables, with particular emphasis on high penetration of PV installations. Finally, DOE is providing engineering support to Forest City Military Communities for installing both a PV array and rooftop PV system. This project demonstrates the benefits of combining a high penetration of renewables with maximized energy efficiency in a residential community.

Alamosa Photovoltaic Plant, Colorado

An 82-acre tract in south central Colorado, near the New Mexico border, is the site for one of the largest PV power plants in the United States. The Alamosa Photovoltaic Plant went on line in December 2007 and generates about 8.2 MW of power using Suntech solar modules. SunEdison built and owns the Alamosa plant, and Xcel Energy purchases the power generated. Performance data are being collected on the plant.

Mesa del Sol, New Mexico

Sandia National Laboratories and Mesa del Sol, a new sustainable community being built in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are partnering on several technical projects supporting the research, development, and demonstration of energy technologies in a real-life environment. As the community reaches its capacity of 38,000 homes and establishes an industrial park, data-monitoring systems will collect performance data on PV and a variety of renewable energy technologies that will be on a grid-tied microgrid.

Sacramento, California

Several new subdevelopments are planned in the service territory of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The Systems Integration team will collaborate with SMUD to gather data on high-penetration scenarios on the distribution systems. One location is the Anatolia subdivision of 600 energy-efficient homes equipped with building- integrated PV systems. A study on this system recently examined the impact of PV systems on voltage regulation (PDF 2.9 MB). Download Adobe Reader.