Scaled Wind Farm Technology Facility (SWiFT)
Sandia National Laboratories’ Scaled Wind Farm Technology Facility in Lubbock, Texas, was a state-of-the-art public research and training facility funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. SWiFT partnered with industry and academia to:
- Test industry technologies
- Enable workforce development programs
- Drive rotor advancements and testing
- Advance renewable energy grid integration and security
SWiFT allowed for rapid, cost-efficient testing and development of transformative wind energy technology, with emphasis on improving wind plant performance. Advanced testing and monitoring at SWiFT helped researchers evaluate how larger wind farms could become more productive.
During its nearly two decades of operations, SWiFT met the needs of the wind industry by providing access to an operational wind farm and conducted groundbreaking experiments that improved understanding of turbine to turbine wake interactions. The site was strategically located in Lubbock, Texas, a region with a high wind resource and low turbulence, which was ideal for research. Test-scale turbines, the ability to facilitate the installation of partner test units, and other site facilities enabled Sandia and its partners to conduct both collaborative and proprietary testing. Sandia also developed highly effective Environmental, Safety and Health standards that were easily integrated into all aspects of the site.
Facility Details
SWiFT Turbines Allowed Unique Access Tailored to Individual Needs
SWiFT consisted of three research-scale wind turbines (modified Vestas V27s). The turbines were capable of full variable-speed, variable-pitch operation with rotational speeds ranging from 0–55 rpm, rotor blades of 13 meters in length, and a maximum power rating of 300 kW. The project team had access to Sandia’s vast network of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), providing myriad additional testing capabilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sandia also developed a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop simulator in Albuquerque that was used at the Distributed Energy Technologies Lab (DETL) for controls and cyber simulation research. This combination of hardware and software also allowed researchers to run control software prior to deployment at the SWiFT Facility for quality and safety assurance.