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Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Spring 2014 Composite Data Products: 

Backup Power

J. Kurtz, S. Sprik, and G. Saur

Technical Report

NREL/TP-5400-62025

June 2014
NOTICE

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Cover Photos: (left to right) photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 16416, photo from SunEdison, NREL 17423, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 16560, photo by Dennis 

Schroeder, NREL 17613, photo by Dean Armstrong, NREL 17436, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 17721.

Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 10% post consumer waste.
3

CDP-BU-01

Backup Power Fuel Cell Systems Deployed

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

 10 14 14 31 44

204 232

357

494

625 649 658

702

807 830 836 842 852

Backup Power Fuel Cell Systems Deployed

2009 Q32009 Q42010 Q12010 Q22010 Q32010 Q42011 Q12011 Q22011 Q32011 Q42012 Q12012 Q22012 Q32012 Q42013 Q12013 Q22013 Q32013 Q4

Cumulative Systems 1,2 Deployed

NREL cdp_bu_01

Created: Apr-16-14 5:02 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q4 1) Sites may have more than one FC system

2) Not all FC systems are supplying operation data
4

CDP-BU-02

Deployed kW Capacity for Backup Power

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

 50 70 70 104 130

 444

 500

 761

1064

1377

1452 1491

1599

1858

1917 1932 1943 1993

Deployed kW Capacity for Backup Power

Cumulative Deployed Capacity [kW]

2009 Q32009 Q42010 Q12010 Q22010 Q32010 Q42011 Q12011 Q22011 Q32011 Q42012 Q12012 Q22012 Q32012 Q42013 Q12013 Q22013 Q32013 Q4

NREL cdp_bu_02

Created: Apr-16-14 5:05 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q4
5

CDP-BU-03

Backup Power Deployments

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

>100

NREL cdp_bu_03

Created: Apr-18-14 7:50 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q4

State kW Sites

Arizona 84 19

California 635 130

Colorado 25 6

Connecticut 130 28

Florida 6 1

Georgia 50 1

Illinois 4 2

Indiana 50 16

Kentucky 22 4

Louisiana 40 8

Massachusetts 10 1

Michigan 168 41

Mississippi 10 2

Nevada 2 1

New Jersey 181 40

New York 238 55

North Carolina 10 2

Oregon 2 1

South Carolina 50 1

Texas 238 48

Utah 36 9

Washington 1 1

Wyoming 2 1

Totals 1993 418

Site Capacity (line height proporational to installed site kW capacity)

Number of

Sites in State

Backup Power Deployments
6

CDP-BU-04

Fuel Cell System Starts by Month

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

Starts

Starts by Month

07/0908/0909/0910/0911/09 12/0901/10 02/1003/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 07/10 08/10 09/10 10/1011/10 12/10 01/11 02/11 03/11 04/11 05/11 06/11 07/11 08/1109/1110/11 11/11 12/11 01/12 02/12 03/12 04/12 05/12 06/12 07/12 08/12 09/12 10/12 11/12 12/12 01/13 02/1303/13 04/13 05/13 06/13 07/13 08/13 09/13

Calendar Month

2583 of 2596 Uninterrupted Operation (99.5%)

60% Conditioning Starts

1034 of 1047 Unscheduled Operation (98.8%)

Starts

Conditioning1 Start

Successful Start

0

15

30

45

60

75

90

105

120

135

150

Reporting FC Systems

NREL cdp_bu_04

Created: Apr-07-14 10:54 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3 1) FC system conditioning is an automated operation for regular

system checks; activitated after long periods of no operation.
7

CDP-BU-05

Fuel Cell System Run Hours by Month

0

50

100

150

07/0908/0909/0910/0911/09 12/0901/10 02/1003/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 07/10 08/10 09/10 10/1011/10 12/10 01/11 02/11 03/11 04/11 05/11 06/11 07/11 08/1109/1110/11 11/11 12/11 01/12 02/12 03/12 04/12 05/12 06/12 07/12 08/12 09/12 10/12 11/12 12/12 01/13 02/1303/13 04/13 05/13 06/13 07/13 08/13 09/13

Calendar Month

Calculated Runtime [hours]

Run Hours by Month

1764 Hours Total Runtime

120 Systems

0.8 Hours Average Fleet Runtime

Run Hours

Conditioning1 Hours

NREL cdp_bu_05

Created: Apr-02-14 1:43 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3 1) FC system conditioning is an automated operation for regular

system checks that are run after long periods of no operation.
8

CDP-BU-07

Fuel Cell System Starts by Day of Week

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

System Starts by Day of Week

Starts [%]

NREL cdp_bu_07 Day

Created: Apr-02-14 1:42 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3
9

CDP-BU-08

Fuel Cell System Starts by Time of Day

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

System Starts by Time of Day

Starts [%]

Time of Day

Starts

Conditioning1

 Starts

NREL cdp_bu_08

Created: Apr-02-14 1:42 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3 1) FC system conditioning is an automated operation for regular

system checks; activitated after long periods of no operation.
10

< 1%

Uninterrupted Operation

EStop: 3

No Fuel: 2 System Failure: 8

NREL cdp_bu_10

Created: Apr-02-14 1:43 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3

2583 out of 2596 uninterrupted operation

99.5 %

13 interrupted operations

Interrupted Operation Categories

CDP-BU-10

Interrupted Operation Categories 
11

CDP-BU-11

Time Between System Starts

1 2 7 14 28 31 Inf 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Days

Frequency [%]

Time Between Starts

All Starts

Conditioning Starts

NREL cdp_bu_11

Created: Apr-02-14 1:43 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3
12

CDP-BU-12

System Start Ambient Temperature

<0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0

5

10

15

20

25

Ambient Temperature [oC]

Frequency [%]

Ambient Temperature at Start

All Starts

Conditioning Starts

NREL cdp_bu_12

Created: Apr-02-14 1:43 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3
13

CDP-BU-14

Site Capacity

0 2 4 6 8 10 Inf 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Capacity by Site

Capacity [kW]

Number of Sites

78%

NREL cdp_bu_14

Created: Apr-02-14 1:43 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3
14

CDP-BU-15

Backup Power Operation With Grid Outage from 01/2010 to 12/2013
15

CDP-BU-16

Operation Hours Per Month

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Average Run Hours Per Month

Percent of Systems

Monthly Run Time

NREL cdp_bu_16

Created: Apr-02-14 1:43 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3
16

CDP-BU-17

Average Starts Per Month

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Average Starts Per Month

Percent of Systems

Average Starts Per Month

% of systems above

 5 starts per month: 3%

NREL cdp_bu_17

Created: Apr-07-14 10:58 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3
17

CDP-BU-18

Site Capacity

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Median Demonstrated^2,3

Average Demonstrated^2,3

Max Demonstrated^2,3

Median Grid Outage^1

Average Grid Outage^1

Average Hurricane^1

Hours

Continuous System Run Time

Durations demonstrated from ARRA project data

65.4 hours

0.3 hours

0.9 hours

44.4 hours

11.7 hours

86.5 hours

Sandy 142.5 hours

Irene 55.5 hours

Isaac 61.4 hours

NREL cdp_bu_18

Created: Apr-07-14 11:05 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3

1) Grid data from Electric Disturbance Event (OE-417) Annual Summaries 2002-2013/12

2) Fuel cell operations less than 5 minutes apart have been combined

 to address intermittent operation.

3) Does not include conditioning starts.
18

CDP-BU-19

Unit Locations

FC Unit Locations - Backup Power

0

25

50

75

100

125

Backup Power (418 Sites and 852 FC Units)

NREL cdp_bu_19

Created: Apr-24-14 11:13 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q4

Number of FC

Units in

State/Site
19

CDP-BU-20

Power Outages per Year

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

 23

 61

 93 85 91

 78

149

 97

123

307

196

174

Number of Incidents

Year

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

Outage time (hr)

Power Outages1 (2002-20132

)

Average number of outages by year = 123

Average outage time by year = 51 hours

Number of Outages

Average Time per Outage

NREL cdp_bu_20

Created: Apr-07-14 11:05 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3

1) Grid data from Electric Disturbance Event (OE-417) Annual Summaries 2002-2013

2) 2013 data through 12/2013
20

CDP-BU-21

Operation Hours vs. Calendar Days

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

System Operation Hours vs. Calendar Days

Calendar Days

Operating Hours

NREL cdp_bu_21

Created: Apr-02-14 1:43 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3

1 hour per 10 days

30 mins per 10 days

Calendar Days = span from first to last use
21

CDP-BU-22

Annualized Cost of Ownership

NREL cdp_bu_22

Created: Apr-15-14 4:54 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3

$0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

8 Hour Runtime

52 Hour Runtime

72 Hour Runtime

176 Hour Runtime

Annualized Cost by Runtime

Battery

Diesel

Fuel Cell

Fuel 

Cell*
22

CDP-BU-23

Annualized Cost of Ownership

8 Hours 52 Hours 72 Hours 176 Hours $0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

Annualized Cost of Ownership - Backup Power

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

NREL cdp_bu_23

Created: Apr-07-14 10:05 AM | Data Through: 2013Q4

Battery $6300 $24800 $31300 $67200

Diesel $4700 $4900 $4900 $5300

FC $5300 $6100 $6100 $8500

FC* $4600 $5100 $5100 $7400
23

CDP-BU-24

8-hour Annualized Cost of Ownership

Battery
 Diesel
 FC FC* $0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

Annualized Cost of Ownership 8-hour Scenario

$3500

$2500

$300

$6300

$2100

$1800

$800

$4700

$2300

$2200

$100

$700

$5300

$1600

$2200

$100

$700

$4600

Capital

Install

Maintenance

Fuel1

NREL cdp_bu_24 1. Includes hydrogen storage rent

2. Actual fuel cost negligible when rounded to the nearest hundred

2 2

Created: May-13-14 10:35 AM | Data Through: 2013Q4
24

CDP-BU-25

52-hour Annualized Cost of Ownership

Diesel FC FC* $0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

Annualized Cost of Ownership 52-hour Scenario

$2100

$1800

$800

$200

$4900

$3600

$2200

$100 $200

$6100

$2600

$2200

$100 $200

$5100

Capital1

Install

Maintenance

Fuel

NREL cdp_bu_25

Created: Apr-07-14 10:05 AM | Data Through: 2013Q4 1. Includes capital costs for fuel storage
25

CDP-BU-26

72-hour Annualized Cost of Ownership

Diesel FC FC* $0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

Annualized Cost of Ownership 72-hour Scenario

$2100

$1800

$800

$200

$4900

$3600

$2200

$100 $200

$6100

$2600

$2200

$100 $200

$5100

Capital1

Install

Maintenance

Fuel

NREL cdp_bu_26

Created: Apr-07-14 10:05 AM | Data Through: 2013Q4 1. Includes capital costs for fuel storage
26

CDP-BU-27

176-hour Annualized Cost of Ownership

Diesel FC FC* $0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

$8,000

$9,000

Annualized Cost of Ownership 176-hour Scenario

$2100

$1800

$800

$600

$5300

$5700

$2200

$100

$500

$8500

$4600

$2200

$100

$500

$7400

Capital1

Install

Maintenance

Fuel

NREL cdp_bu_27

Created: Apr-07-14 10:05 AM | Data Through: 2013Q4 1. Includes capital costs for fuel storage
27

CDP-BU-28

Annualized Cost of Ownership Heat Map

Battery: $6,300

Diesel: $4,700

FC*: $4,600

Fuel

Maint.

8 Hours of Backup

Install

Capital

$0k

$1k

$2k

$3k

$4k

Battery*: $24,800

Diesel: $4,900

FC*: $5,100

Fuel

Maint.

52 Hours of Backup

Install

Capital

$0k

$1k

$2k

$3k

$4k

$5k

$6k

Battery*: $31,300

Diesel: $4,900

FC*: $5,100

Fuel

Maint.

72 Hours of Backup

Install

Capital

$0k

$1k

$2k

$3k

$4k

$5k

$6k

Battery*: $67,200

Diesel: $5,300

FC*: $7,400

Fuel

Maint.

176 Hours of Backup

Install

Capital

$0k

$1k

$2k

$3k

$4k

$5k

$6k

$7k

$8k

NREL cdp_bu_28

Created: Apr-07-14 10:16 AM | Data Through: 2013Q4

Annualized Cost Breakdown For

Three Backup Power Technologies

*Battery costs above chart axis limit, not shown.
28

CDP-BU-29

Mean Time Between Interrupted Operation

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Inf 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Calendar Days

System Count

Mean Time Between Interrupted Operations

No Interrupted Operation

Median = 465* days

*Only includes systems

with Interrupted Operation

NREL cdp_bu_29

Created: Apr-04-14 2:07 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3
29

CDP-BU-30

Annualized Cost of Ownership—Zoomed In

8 Hours 52 Hours 72 Hours 176 Hours $0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

Annualized Cost of Ownership - Backup Power

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

NREL cdp_bu_30

Created: Apr-07-14 10:05 AM | Data Through: 2013Q4

Battery $6300 $24800 $31300 $67200

Diesel $4700 $4900 $4900 $5300

FC $5300 $6100 $6100 $8500

FC* $4600 $5100 $5100 $7400
30

CDP-BU-31

72-hour Annualized Cost of Ownership Sensitivity

NREL cdp_bu_31

Created: Apr-15-14 4:32 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

Battery

Diesel

FC

FC*

Capital Install Discount Rate Operation Life Maintenance Fuel

Annualized Cost Sensitivity

72 hour runtime

Avg
31

CDP-BU-32

72-hour Annualized Cost of Ownership Sensitivity—Zoomed In

NREL cdp_bu_32

Created: Apr-15-14 4:32 PM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q3

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

$8,000

$9,000

$10,000

Diesel

FC

FC*

Diesel

FC

FC*

Diesel

FC

FC*

Diesel

FC

FC*

Diesel

FC

FC*

Diesel

FC

FC*

Capital Install Discount Rate Operation Life Maintenance Fuel

Annualized Cost Sensitivity

72 hour runtime

Avg
32

CDP-BU-33

Fuel Cell Capital Cost Breakdown

 8 Hours 52 Hours 72 Hours 176 Hours $0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

Fuel Cell Capital Cost

HSM

Fuel Cell

NREL cdp_bu_33

Created: Apr-16-14 8:59 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q4 HSM = Hydrogen Storage Module