The University of Northumbria has opened a brand-new laboratory which generates renewable energy for the University’s City Center.

Dr Ghanim Putrus is Reader in Electrical Power Engineering at Northumbria’s School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences. He said: “We have installed new wind turbines and photovoltaic systems on campus and these are currently harnessing wind and solar energy which is being channeled directly into the national grid. They are providing the University with a valuable source of energy and we hope in the future to install further green systems to make a significant contribution towards the University’s own energy consumption.”

The laboratory is equipped with modern training equipment including computerized test rigs, a smart power signal generator, a photovoltaic test rig and appropriate power conditioning, and measurement and analysis equipment. It has a unique advanced data acquisition and power quality analysis system, which enables researchers to sample the quality of supply at millisecond intervals and is also fully supported to develop rapid prototyping.

Researchers at the University are working closely with companies and organizations in the region, including the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) in Blyth. Their work will help inform energy policy makers and will have a direct benefit to the UK power industry in the future.

Dr. Putrus added: “We are currently looking at how we can make wind turbines and photovoltaic systems generate more power from the available wind and sun energy and how this can be harnessed for wider consumption.”

With a recognized skills shortage in the area of new and renewable energy, Northumbria’s New and Renewable Energy Laboratory will support both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and will help train students and researchers to feed into a growing industrial base. It will support the introduction of more renewable energy topics into the University’s teaching programs and enable the development of industry-focused short courses.


-  Katrice R. Jalbuena

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Sources:

¹ http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/insight/1227875
² http://northumbria.ac.uk/insight/
³ http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/