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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Idaho Falls Power Black Start Field Demonstration (Preliminary Outcomes Paper)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1817907· OSTI ID:1817907
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  1. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
  2. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  3. Idaho Falls Power, ID (United States)
  4. American Governor Group of Emerson, St. Louis, MO (United States)

This April 2021 field demonstration builds upon a 2017 field demonstration in which it was determined IFP’s HPPs, on their own, can support islanded black start and operation up to 2.5 MW loading. Modeling and hardware-in-the-loop testing was used in the intervening period to design an energy storage solution, specifically using ultracapacitors, to reduce likelihood of generators tripping during the field demonstration. Overall, the 2021 field demonstration tested three different options for meeting IFP’s requirements: innovating the hydropower controls, synchronizing multiple HPPs on the system, and integrating an ultracapacitor energy storage system. This report documents the testing performed. Follow-on analysis will provide additional insights, for example, including a complete table of comparative results between the tests and scenarios. The analysis will also propose a refined design for an energy storage system to meet IFP’s grid islanded needs.

Research Organization:
Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Idaho Falls Power, ID (United States); American Governor Group of Emerson, St. Louis, MO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC07-05ID14517
OSTI ID:
1817907
Report Number(s):
INL/EXT--21-63855
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English