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Distributed Energy Communications and Controls Laboratory (DECC)

overhead shot of DECC lab building with power poles around it and solar panels on roof
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The Distributed Energy Communications and Controls Laboratory (DECC) houses two major test beds. The DECC Test Bed for Anomaly Detection is focused on evaluation and demonstration of conventional and state-of-the-art sensors for the nation’s power grid. Renewable energy resources and electric vehicles (EVs) are radically changing power distribution, requiring new high-frequency monitoring, diagnostics, and controls to ensure reliable power delivery.

The DECC Test Bed for Integrated Power Electronics extends simulation and emulation research into application using installed distributed energy resources, loads, and sensing. It is critical to demonstrate integration and optimization of advanced communications and controls for new power electronic technologies as they blend or interact with commercial systems, in both grid-tied and microgrid environments. Technologies supporting both AC-DC power conversion and direct DC-DC power conversion will be required for scaling new energy sources and higher loads, such as from EV charging, for grid modernization.

Power electronics in a metal standing cabinet

Uniqueness and capabilities:

Test Bed for Anomaly Detection

  • Indoor and outdoor test facilities at DECC allow candidate sensors to be evaluated under realistic conditions to verify sensor accuracy over extended periods.
  • Voltage and current waveforms containing anomalies from a and field data are replayed on test sensors.
  • The test bed can accommodate voltages to 35kV, currents to 4,000A, continuous power to 2MVA, and frequencies from DC to > 10kHz.

Test Bed for Integrated Power Electronics

  • Integrated power distribution can switch from 480V/240Vac grid to installed distributed energy resources (DER) or a commercial test platform.
  • Evaluation of bidirectional power flow and optimization use cases, with real source/load conditions.
  • Remote facility is linked with high-performance communication network to interconnect test beds in different locations.
Man working with cables and wires in a cage area with a whirly gray piece of equipment in foreground

Technology Resources:

  • PXIe high-speed waveform generation, data acquisition, and edge detection
  • Real time simulator for controlling sensor voltage, current, and high-speed amplifiers
  • Electrical power quality 6105A calibrator for National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceability
  • Grid connection to distributed energy resources: 50kW roadside array, 13kW rooftop array, energy storage, microturbine
  • Load banks: 500kW resistive and 375kVar inductive load banks
  • Electronic load bank