Idaho National Laboratory, working with Fall River Electric Cooperative, demonstrated how the new Microgrid in a Box can strengthen small hydropower plants’ abilities to help electric grids recover after a blackout or power disturbance.
Water Power Technologies Office
March 14, 2024
minute read time
Hydropower Program
Grid Reliability, Resilience, & Integration (HydroWIRES)
Project Name: Fall River Electric Cooperative Black Start Field Demonstration
Project Team: Idaho National Laboratory (lead), Fall River Electric Cooperative, and Mercury Governor
Lead Recipient Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho, with field demonstration in Felt, Idaho
Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) demonstrated a new portable microgrid solution that can help small towns and remote areas recover from power outages. The Relocatable Resiliency Alternative Power Improvement Distribution Microgrid in a Box (RAPID MIB) can strengthen the capabilities of small-town hydropower plants to integrate other energy sources and maintain stable power supplies to critical services after blackouts or other power disturbances. It was deployed in partnership with the Fall River Electric Cooperative at a hydropower plant in rural Idaho and with integration assistance from Mercury Governor.
Rural and remote communities across the United States often face complex and costly energy challenges that include maintaining the electrical grid and restarting it after blackouts in a process known as "black start." A black start is the complicated process of restarting power generation stations or electric grids after shutdowns and disruptions. During a ribbon-cutting event in July 2023, INL and the Fall River team demonstrated how the RAPID MIB, in conjunction with a hydropower plant, could be used in small communities as a portable way to maintain or black-start the grid after a blackout.
The Relocatable Resiliency Alternative Power Improvement Distribution Microgrid in a Box can strengthen the capabilities of small-town hydropower plants to integrate other energy sources and maintain stable power supplies to critical services after blackouts or other power disturbances.
The RAPID MIB was created through a collaboration among INL engineers, private industry, and the U.S. Department of Defense. It is 40 feet by 8 feet in size and weighs around 35,000 pounds. It is capable of providing 250 kilowatts of electricity through its battery system for one hour. This is enough electricity to power 10 U.S. homes.
The RAPID MIB's adaptability, capability, and portability to integrate hydropower, solar, wind, nuclear, and/or diesel energy could be used to help many other small and off-grid communities with similar resources provide reliable power, even during emergencies. It is currently planned for testing with small hydrogen production systems, hydrogen- or ammonia-based generation systems, and INL's Critical Infrastructure Test Range.
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