U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Distributed Energy Program

Technology Testing and Validation

The testing of distributed power products is an early step in their successful development and integration in several ways. Most directly, the adoption of standards makes it necessary to have formal "test procedures" to ensure that equipment used under the standard meets the requirements. These test procedures must first be developed and then "tested" themselves as part of the underlying standards development process. Additionally, with innovative technologies, testing determines performance parameters for comparison with existing technologies and helps standards organizations create workable requirements for new products. In addition, testing ensures that individual distributed power components operate safely and effectively when combined in interconnection systems.

A variety of testing and testing-related activities are now being performed through DOE. To learn more, explore the following links:

NREL DER Test Facility — The lead facility in the development of IEEE 1547 and its testing procedures.
Certification
Distributed Utility Integration Test
Nevada Test Site