Founded in 2020 and owned by Michigan Technological University (MTU), the Michigan Regional Test Center (MI RTC) occupies designated land adjacent to MTU’s Advanced Power Systems Research Center in Calumet. With onsite diagnostic laboratories, full-time technical support, world-class meteorological instrumentation, and sufficient space for multiple PV demonstration systems, the MI RTC site is a singular national resource that:
- Represents a world-class facility for solar energy research at northern latitudes
- Enables researchers to measure the performance of solar panels under conditions of extreme cold and wind loading
- Provides a test bed for demonstrating the snow-loading and snow-shedding performance of new solar designs
- Delivers a cutting-edge, hands-on educational experience for students and the next-generation workforce in Michigan
- Creates unique opportunities for MTU to partner with industry as well as other research institutions
- Has given rise to a long-lasting and mutually beneficial collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories and other RTC-affiliated organizations.
The PV systems installed at the MI RTC fall into three categories: 1) prototypes provided by US manufacturers seeking to commercialize their products; 2) research systems intended to gather data on next-generation solar cells and modules; and 3) experimental systems for training and education. Technologies under evaluation range from photovoltaic (including advanced cell and module types) to inverters, racking systems, and other hardware.
- Northernmost of the six Regional Test Centers (RTC)
- Provides low barrier to entry winter research space for solar energy systems, industrial Partners
- Comprehensive meteorological station provides weather data to each sponsor
- 24/7 imaging via 4k cameras stream & logged with performance data images to SFTP server.
