Sector
Defence
SOLUTION
Power Resilience
On-site Generation
Solving Grid Constraints
TECHNOLOGY
Transformers
Voltage Optimisation
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
Battery Energy Storage
All defense sites have critical power requirements and most will ensure that they are able to run independently from the grid by having their own on-site power generation, typically a large combined heat and power (CHP) system.
Challenge
Although CHP systems can power a site when there is no grid supply, they cannot support very short-term, sub-second interruptions and they cannot switch to independent running quickly enough.
Powerstar has previously worked with such sites to enable the site to switch from grid supply to their own independent, “islanded” supply when a disruption is sensed. The step change in power demand from a sudden switch to the CHP system would cause the system to trip and shutdown.
Solution
Powerstar’s battery energy storage systems are used as a load buffer to transition to the CHP supply but can also supply a full Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) capability to protect from very short-term power interruptions which would nonetheless shutdown critical equipment. The UPS also protects the CHP itself from shutdown ensuring it can support the load requirement more quickly.
This whole process, from blackout through to the CHP supporting the entire site, takes approximately 20 seconds. Once a grid connection is re-established, the Powerstar system seamlessly supports the transition of the site back to grid connection.
Sites like these can be extremely complex, the size of small towns, with many transformers spread across a large area and Powerstar’s track record of protecting them in the event of blackouts, brownouts and power disruptions is of critical importance.
