A Comparison of Fuel Choice for Backup Generators

This work was authored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding provided by Enchanted Rock, LLC. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor, DOE, or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. Goals Of Project • Estimate the reliability of diesel and natural gas backup generators. • Compare how differences in fuel security between diesel and natural gas affects backup generator reliability for long-duration outages. • Model the economics of using backup generators to provide additional services. • Compare the economics of diesel and natural gas backup generators.