Facility boosts turbine grid integration capability
Nordex has inaugurated a generator converter test bench at its Rostock site to expand in-house development and testing of wind turbine electrical systems.
The company said the facility will enable faster and more comprehensive testing of high-performance converters, which transform turbine output for grid use while regulating frequency and voltage.
Nordex added that converters are essential for adapting to evolving international grid requirements and for implementing grid-forming strategies.
“With the new test bench, we at Nordex are strengthening our ability to develop our own converter solutions to meet the changing international requirements of continuously growing grid connection specifications; the grid codes,” head of test and prototype Helmut Resing-Wormer said.
“We’re testing under real-world conditions in Rostock to ensure our systems’ reliability and grid compliance,” Resing-Wormer said.
“By building in-house development capabilities and expertise in converter technology, we’re laying the groundwork for flexible, tailored grid integration solutions,” Nordex VP global electrical engineering Dr Christian Wessels said.
Nordex said the Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop test bench allows simulation of a wide range of grid conditions, removing the need for exclusive field testing and providing earlier measurement results.
Representatives from government, research institutions and partner companies attended the inauguration, including the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Nordex invested over 4 million in the Rostock test facility, which was delivered with support from partners in Denmark, Spain and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
“In recent years, an engineering network of companies and research institutes has established itself in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and particularly in Rostock, focusing on grid integration and grid stability,” Resing-Wörmer said.
Nordex said the new test bench expands Rostock’s role as a centre of excellence alongside nacelle, hub, drive-train and control-cabinet manufacturing and its blade competence centre.
Michael Franke, Vice President Global Engineering, Nordex, Helmut Resing-Woermer, Head of Test & Prototype, Global Engineering, Nordex, Kerstin Deller, Head of the Energy Research Subdivision at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and Dr. Christian Wessels, Vice President Global Electrical Engienering, Nordex.
