E2TAC has worked with many energy technology company partners on technology transfer projects and assisted these companies in proving out these technologies on the bench scale, but E2TAC was hindered in its abilities to assist company partners in testing full-scale products in real-world conditions. To overcome this problem, E2TAC sought and received funding for the Test Farm from the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NYSTAR).This $3.5 million initiative is already underway in partnership with Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architects and Engineers.

The Test Farm will include test pads, fuel and electricity conduits, a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System, fuel storage, electrical interconnection with CNSE buildings, etc.  A Test Farm laboratory will house the SCADA computers, desks, lab benches, and an assembly space.

The Test Farm will allow demonstration and continuous operation of pre-commercial state-of-the-art alpha and beta prototype alternate energy products and services. The ability to demonstrate reliability, quality and availability of electric power by testing energy storage, power generation, power conditioning and switching products under live conditions will provide exceptional opportunity to companies developing new alternate energy products. Interconnecting with the CNSE buildings will also allow demonstration of peak shaving and energy management systems. Joint partnerships with other laboratories and companies are expected to address universal grid interconnection issues of alternate energy generation products at the test farm. "Live" sensitive loads including cleanroom equipment, vacuum pumps, deposition tools etc. would be provided for qualified equipment testing. The NanoFab facility at CNSE requires extremely high quality, reliable power, so demonstrating that nanotechnology improvised energy devices are suitable for this facility will demonstrate their ability for use at many power-critical facilities. Testing that includes calibrations, system characterization, long-term performance and stability, micro-grid set-up, accelerated tests, failure analysis and environmental tests are examples of specialized support services that will be provided to participating organizations. The Test Farm will provide reliability and digital power testing at the tool, facility and grid level (kW to MW). Additional features of the Energy Test Farm will include availability of remote monitoring, long-term aging, quality & reliability, incorporation of active sensors and an enterprise energy management system. Development activities at the Farm will address universal grid interconnection issues and practical utility concerns: substation integration, reliability, ease of servicing, etc.

In order to best serve its customers, E2TAC and EYP established NISE, the National Institute for Sustainable Energy, which will develop and prove out clean energy technologies which EYP can then bring to the marketplace. The NISE lab will become a resource to conduct joint R&D and commercialization programs related to zero energy and sustainable buildings.  The technology to be developed, evaluated, and demonstrated includes energy efficiency, energy generation, and energy storage. Used in concert, these technologies can lead to buildings that reduce our ecological footprint from energy use and stimulate economic development in New York.

Specific technologies to be tested at the NISE and Test Farm facilities will include:

• Fuel cells for combined heat and power, auxiliary power units, and UPS
• Ultracapacitors for high power electricity storage
• Power electronics for high power, efficient energy control and conversion
• Alternative fuel (Hydrogen, biofuels) generation and storage
• Solar photovoltaics
• Electrochromatic glass partitions
• Hydrogen, chemical and environmental sensors
• Superconductors for efficient energy transmission
• Thermoelectrics for generating electricity from waste heat
• Building information modeling software development and validation
• Building energy system monitoring and control sensors and techniques
• Energy efficiency technologies, active and passive
• Energy recovery technologies
• Load leveling techniques

Some of the technologies to be tested will be sited outdoors for exposure to natural resources and for realistic test conditions. Outdoor test spaces include the rooftop of the laboratory building and a specially designed solar carport which will serve both as a test platform and as an aesthetically pleasing structure to shield cars from the snow and sun. The roof top test bed will include concrete pads, elevator access, and rigging access. Large equipment will eventually be sited in currently unused portions of the CNSE campus.