Prepping and Planning

The cogeneration system ran 24 hours per day for the five days, providing power to all apartments, the elevators, domestic water pumps, and heat for the central boilers and domestic hot water. Normally, the cogeneration system supplies about 80% of the building’s power with each of the four 100-kW units cycling on and off, according to Joe Weinschreider, the senior engineer and associate at Energy Concepts, the design engineers for the cogeneration system.

The Brevoort residential coop in NYC stayed up-andrunning throughout Superstorm Sandy powered by a 400- kW Tecogen natural gas-fired cogeneration system installed in 2010.

Brevoort chose to install the cogeneration system as part of an energy efficiency green initiative. It has a strong drive to go green, says Weinschreider, and has done other things to reduce consumption. In a statement, Diane Nardone, president of the Brevoort co-op board, said, “Investing in this technology has given us environmental and economic benefits and the added security of knowing that we can stay up-and-running no matter what nature throws at us.”

The plant normally operates under automated controls and is remotely monitored at Energy Concepts, says Weinschreider. Tecogen monitors the systems as well and can dispatch technicians as needed if anything changes. During the blackout, Weinschreider said, “We checked on an hourly basis in the first few days and then about 10 times per day.” The co-op’s supervisor, who is trained to operate the system, switched it to independent operation as soon as the power went out, and as Con Ed power came back on, he returned it to parallel operations as soon.

Weinschreider explains that it’s easy to switch manually. The supervisor pushed a button and flipped a switch. The cogeneration system turns on, and once it starts producing power, it supplies the electrical feeds to the 288 apartments in turn. “We were on the phone with him all the time,” he says.

Robert Panora, president and chief operating officer at Tecogen, says normally the cogeneration system would switch over to standalone operation automatically. However, in this instance, a controller was down for maintenance due to a previous storm, so the switch was made manually. The system was designed to be fully redundant to allow for either automatic or manual switchover.

Weinschreider says Energy Concepts has been involved in 75 Tecogen cogeneration systems-three of them in New York City. As for the future, “The trend is positive. People are interested in reducing energy costs.” Furthermore, natural gas prices are down, and they will probably stabilize, he adds.

Panora observes that the economic savings associated with a Tecogen cogeneration system are actually decoupled from the natural gas rates in energy markets like that of Manhattan. Much of the electric bill doesn’t come from actual usage, but from demand charges. Should gas rates climb significantly, buildings like the Brevoort would still realize significant economic savings by using their systems and not suffering demand charges.

Other Companies Rally to the Storm

Larry Fetting, general manager of Cummins Americas Rental Segment, says Cummins and its distributors were much more prepared for Superstorm Sandy following their experiences with flooding after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

As warnings for Sandy were broadcast, Cummins equipment was moved from stores as far away as California to the East Coast, and deployed in staging areas around the storm-impacted area. Customers calling distributors or rental agencies expected rapid responses on whether to rent or buy a new unit depending on what was in stock.

Cummins Power Generation distributors mobilized rental fleets and supplied 415 generators to provide 215 MW of temporary emergency power in New Jersey and New York following Superstorm Sandy. Not only did the generators keep businesses and homes powered up and heated, but they also pumped water out of flooded areas and will provide power for rebuilding efforts.

Fetting says he knows how important it is to be part of the solution. He assists strategic customers or distributors to help get components to support that business in whatever way he can. For example, he had five minutes to decide to get truck drivers to move generator sets for customers at a quoted price. In other cases, he would need to sell a generator to a rental company who would then rent it to an end customer. Most mobile units use diesel fuel, since a natural gas-fired generator requires a 3-inch gas line, which most end users don’t have.

An industrial processor or telecommunications company may make a “contingency rental” to guarantee a rental company always has what they need in stock. In this case, the company pays a fee to the rental company to store the generator sets and to maintain them in a ready state.

In other cases, a grocery story chain may buy one unit and move it from store to store and buy additional units as needed.

A West Coast Supplier
Global Power Supply provides backup generation to the commercial and industrial sector as well as testing equipment; known as load banks, transfer switches, and whatever else is needed to get backup generation operating. It is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, and supplies clients all over the country according to Ron Zamir, the company’s CEO.

A logistics team at Global Power Supply handles the delivery and setup of the equipment, and a financial team handles payment details, “with the least amount of bureaucracy,” says Zamir.

How often should a facility test its backup power equipment? Zamir says the level of criticality of the facility defines the amount of testing it should do. Hospital backup equipment may start up automatically once a week. However, in the Superstorm Sandy disaster, some of the hospital generation failure was due to lack of complete testing. One backup battery had failed, something that once-per-week automatic start-ups would not identify.

Fuel supplies are usually provided by local suppliers, although his company can arrange for fuel supplies, says Zamir. Every hospital should have its own backup fuel supply, he adds.

Regulations have come into play in California where manufacturers of generators have to complete shaker table tests on their equipment. The manufacturers are responsible for providing seismic certification on each generator at the time of sale. California has proven to be the leader in developing regulations, Zamir says. He expects another round following Superstorm Sandy regarding health care facilities because of dead batteries.

Zamir observes that during “Hurricane Ike” in 2008 when they were in Houston and talking to customers, the vast majority were in denial about future disasters, commenting, “How often will that happen again?” Indeed, it will happen again, and preparation is critical.

Getting Backup Fuel in Emergencies
Superstorm Sandy kept Sun Coast Resources busy delivering diesel fuel. Its core business is to deliver fuel to any business that is not a gas station, and it can deliver to over 34 states. “We landed in Philadelphia on October 26 [in advance of the storm], from Houston, Texas” where the company is based, says Kyle Lehne, vice president of emergency response at Sun Coast.

Sun Coast markets and sells, loans, or leases Western International Inc.’s Transcube double-walled fuel tanks that range in size from 132 gallons to 20,000 gallons. While the vast amount of fuel Sun Coast delivers is diesel, it also transports jet fuel and gasoline.

Sun Coast receives calls from customers such as big box stores, power companies, cellular companies, hospitals, prisons, police stations, and utilities, and supplies fuel tanks and fuel. “We’ve [even] been contacted to respond to fires in the West,” says Lehne.

Sun Coast also delivered Transcube fuel tanks to JKF and LaGuardia international airports in New York City after the storm had passed, where they were set up as remote fueling stations for employees during the fuel shortage.

An international logistics shipper also set up remote fueling stations at its warehouses and distribution centers for its trucks. In some cases, the fuel tanks were coupled with generators to power the facilities. Sun Coast also set up fueling stations at government facilities to supply gasoline to employees.

Lehne says that in order to clear roads to get their trucks through during storms, the drivers carry chain saws and other tools.

Fortunately, the company trucks were able to get the fuel they needed for customers at most terminals they pulled into, because the fuel terminals he has action accounts with were not damaged during the Superstorm. However, in some emergencies, allocations going to some customers were likely limited. At the height of the demand, some terminals might have demanded 50% or 70% sales to conserve fuel for everyone.

What to Look for When Buying or Renting

Fetting, with Cummins, says if a customer is buying a standby generator there are things he needs to be aware of: the generator has to have the flexibility to handle different voltages via rewiring alternators, using link boards, or voltage selector switches. The machine must meet emissions standards in the area in which it is to be located.

Fetting says that users should be aware of Canada’s new fuel tank code. The buyer should also consider different air temperatures and altitudes where the unit will be operating. For example, a 1,000-kW unit operating in 100-degree weather at altitude may operate at partial rated load.

Be aware of the sound of the unit when it is operating. “No one’s ever going to say it’s too quiet,” says Fetting. Cummins does a lot of testing on the sounds generated by its units. Sound can be controlled, for example, by insulating it or locating it in an appropriate area and controlling the sound where it comes in and goes out on the unit. “Our units send the sound straight up,” he says.

Fetting says it is important to remember standby units must be serviced regularly-changing oil, charging the batteries at least once a year-and once a month they must be run in order to keep them ready to run. So they must be accessible.

Be aware of how long the generator runs between refueling. A construction generator will consume around 7 gallons per hour, while large generators (2,000 kW) will use over 100 gallons of diesel per hour, says Fetting. Large tanks will be needed to hold enough fuel to keep a generator operating for 24 to 30 hours. Fetting also says an end user needs to understand how fast a tank can be refueled. If the customer is renting the unit, he or she may want the rental company to handle fueling during disasters as they may be better prepared to ensure a steady fuel supply.

Cummins units are easy to maintain, Fetting says. All of its mobile units have manuals online that can be downloaded. “It should be easy enough for your mother to operate by pushing a button,” he says.

Units have a good resale value allowing most of the initial investment to be recovered, Fetting says. If you take good care of the unit, he says, it can chalk up 50,000 hours of use.

An issue that many read about in the news in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy involved standby units being flooded because they were located in the basement or on the first floor of a building, perhaps outside. When the tsunami hit Japan’s nuclear power plant, the standby power units used to keep nuclear fueling equipment operating were flooded because the designers assumed the high ground they were located on would protect them. It didn’t.

Fetting says utilities used this information as a lesson learned, and have begun moving their standby units to safer locations. Other end users are instead buying large numbers of generators and using genset docking stations or electrical panels away from the building where the power is needed.

The newest developments in engine technology, says Fetting, are in controlling emissions that have been reduced by 95%. Engines are becoming more efficient, reducing the operation cost per kilowatt. Gas-fired engines are growing in popularity because of lower natural gas prices.

Using packaged units that supply standby power to reduce peak loads on a daily basis is an excellent way to reduce utility costs, Fetting says. He says five 1,250-kW units at the Cummins factory in Minnesota are saving the company $300,000 per year.

Where Is Standby Generation Going?
Panora, with Tecogen said the company began designing its engine-driven generators with inverter systems so that they can run parallel to the grid. Con Ed and other utilities will not allow synchronous generators to connect to the grid, so Tecogen adopted the idea of using inverters that solar systems use.

“We adopted a microgrid system with CERTS software developed by the University of Wisconsin with funding from the US Department of Energy, and seized on it to operate as a parallel system, as well as a standby system,” he says. The California Energy Commission contributed funding to integrate the CERTS software into Tecogen’s microgrid system. Tecogen has contributed funding and/or support to earlier and ongoing microgrid demonstration projects including the Walnut test site in Groveport, OH, and Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s microgrid project, which is using Tecogen engines.

Panora explains that the distribution system in New York City is very congested, and Con Ed is struggling with a lack of power; so, in spite of normally being anti-microgrid, it approved Tecogen’s cogeneration system. The utility likes the inverter-based system because it was certified by UL for installation before shipping, he says.

“Conventional generators have the capability to surge for short durations during disruptive [fault] conditions by as much as seven times their rated capacity,” says Panora. This is a significant concern to ConEd distribution engineers relative to the potential damage to their network, which is already heavily burdened. The power delivered to the grid from Tecogen generators passes through the system’s inverter that, being based on semiconductor technology, is self-limiting and is physically unable to surge, he explains.

“ConEd immediately liked what we were introducing since it was a much more benign system,” he says. “Now they are sending customers to us.”

If weather systems become more disruptive as in the case of Sandy, microgrids will become more important. “If the power goes out for two weeks causing great suffering, more customers will be seeking out this type of system,” says Panora. Still, “Most utilities will not be our friends, and they will always have concerns about losing customers. It will be interesting if this becomes a tipping point. Solar and wind can’t help during disasters.”

Waiting for the Power?
It takes a minimum of 10 to 15 seconds for a standby generator to begin producing power when utility power shuts off. Flywheels or battery-powered uninterruptible power supplies can fill that void.

VYCON, headquartered in Cerritos, California, manufactures and sells flywheel systems that store and deliver DC power utilizing the kinetic energy of the high speed flywheel. Compatible with major brands of three-phase UPSs, the systems interface with the DC bus of the UPS, just like a bank of batteries, receiving charging current from the UPS and providing DC current to the UPS inverter during discharge.

Dann McKeraghan, sales and marketing vice president at VYCON, said his company’s  flywheel has a rotating mechanism which spins in a vacuum and is held in place by magnets at the top and bottom, eliminating the need for mechanical bearings. That spinning captures energy which can be released in the form of current into the UPS inverter.

EasyStreet Online Services, Inc., located in Beaverton, OR, provides cloud-managed colocation and data services, and operates as “green” as possible. It buys 100% wind offset credits for both of its data centers. According to Jon Crowhurst, the company’s director of technical services, it had a flywheel system at a previous data center but it became expensive maintaining and replacing bearings at a cost of $10,000 every three years.

According to Crowhurst, the three VYCON VDC-XEs, rated at 300 kW, run in parallel with double-conversion UPS systems and act as a bridge that seamlessly transfers to the facility’s diesel-engine generators.

McKeraghan said the typical flywheel needs to provide power for a minimum of 15 seconds before the standby generator starts generating power. A flywheel with a 110-kVA rating will provide 55 seconds of power. VYCON can also supply a system with a 1,000 kVA rating utilizing four flywheels.

The VYCON flywheel not only eliminates batteries, it also eliminates the need for cooling and takes up about three times less space than a battery plant. Maintenance takes 15 minutes once a year with no downtime, said McKeraghan. VYCON flywheels cost about 20% more than a battery system, he said, but there are no batteries to be replaced every four years. He calculates the return on investment to be three or four years.

The last word goes to Crowhurst: “Reliability, sustainability and having a low carbon footprint are part of the ethos of our company. This vision with actual energy savings allows us to save money which translates to saving our customers moneyit’s a great win-win. The Brevoort Coop couldn’t agree more.