Standby Distributed Generation: Engine-Side Issues and Solutions

ABSTRACT

Significant attention has been given to energy supply and prices during the past year. The volatility in reliability and pricing of electrical energy, particularly in markets such as California, has prompted many companies to take a renewed interest in their energy supply, energy costs, and consumption patterns. More recently, the economic environment has many businesses scrambling to cut costs to preserve profitability in a soft market. One of the strategies for gaining better control of power reliability and energy costs is to utilize on-site or distributed generation (DG).

While the media currently favors coverage of emerging commercialized versions of distributed generation technologies such as fuel cells and micro-turbines, one generation resource that is often readily dismissed is standby generation. Standby generation is most often in the form of diesel reciprocating, engine-driven generation used for power in the event of a utility outage. Given the extensive installed base of standby generation, there is a clear opportunity for energy cost savings.