Quad Cities Generating Station Relies on BlackStarTech Emergency Power Solutions

BlackStarTech Provides Emergency Preparedness and Risk Reduction

Serving communities in Iowa and Illinois, the Quad Cities Generating Station annually generates nearly 1,900 megawatts of carbon-free electricity for over one million homes. The site has two General Electric boiling water nuclear reactors which operate 24/7 apart from the time spent on periodic maintenance and refueling. Since Quad Cities Station is a part of a nationwide network of power-generating facilities owned and operated by Constellation, the site follows advanced protocols to keep their facility operating safely and efficiently.

A Proactive Company Culture

Constellation’s forward-thinking organizational ethos permeates the various protocols in all aspects of their facilities, including safety and security measures, and emergency backup power supply methods

Constellation has an innovative process in place should a facility-wide, grid-wide, or regional power outage occur. In such an event, Quad Cities Station has a comprehensive set of rapidly deployable portable backup power products and emergency lighting units from BlackStarTech standing by. These on-site assets can be deployed in less than 30 minutes for both emergency situations, as well as for increasing efficiency of routine maintenance tasks to assure the safety of personnel and the efficiency of the facility and the surrounding community.

Emergency Preparedness and Risk Reduction

The Quad Cities Generating Station utilizes the BlackStarTech advanced line of Genesis Series backup power supply solutions for numerous operating scenarios. As a result of this implementation, Quad Cities has improved nuclear station safety, reduced risk profiles, and enhanced risk-informed applications.

Here are a few examples of how the Genesis Series products have enhanced operations at Quad Cities:

  • Genesis Series backup power systems create significantly more operator flexibility while also enhancing the plant’s risk profile for internal events such as fire, and external events such as flooding and high winds.
  • The ability to rapidly deploy portable power aids the plant’s risk-informed categorization of structures, systems, and components including LCO completion time reduction.
  • Genesis Series backup power supplies are being used for a more reliable digital reactor level indication system that previously did not have power during reactor head disassembly in a planned outage.
  • Genesis Series backup power supplies are being used to provide temporary power to a containment sump during a planned bus outage in order to keep the sump operational so additional maintenance could be performed on other components.

While Quad Cities is able to use BlackStarTech to augment their FLEX strategy and improve their PRA by approximately 15%, the site has also used it for efficiency gains in non-emergency situations.

Not for Emergency Use Only: Streamlined Online and Planned Outage Work

The BlackStarTech products can also simplify work in non-emergency situations. For example, all nuclear stations have periodically scheduled outages that involve the shutdown of a generating unit for inspection, maintenance, or refueling. The Sentinel MOV Power Pack is a small 3-Phase power solution that can be easily deployed near Motor Operated Valves and other components to test or maintain availability during bus outages to improve station efficiency. Likewise, the Sentinel AOV Power Pack can be used to run Air Operated Valves during pre-arranged outages, in addition to emergency scenarios.

BlackStarTech's Batteries

Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries: Better and Safer Than Your Average Battery

Unlike other vendor offerings that employ older, maintenance-intensive batteries and antiquated backup diesel generators, BlackStarTech utilizes state-of-the-art Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Batteries and highly efficient integrated propane backup generators to provide power solutions that can typically be deployed in 30 minutes and run for 30 days.

The Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are 50% lighter and have significantly more energy density than Lead Acid batteries. These advanced batteries last at least 3 times longer, are more environmentally friendly, and have 15-year expected battery lifespans. In addition, LiFePO4 batteries are inherently non-combustible and much more stable and don’t experience thermal runaway similar to Lithium-Ion batteries. Based on extensive testing, there are no combustibility or thermal runaway concerns with LiFePO4.

These advanced batteries are combined with inverters and rectifiers to give you the ability to deploy power on-site in 30 minutes or less. BlackStarTech supports a myriad of DC and AC supply power sources, including from 12 to 250 VDC to 3-phase 480 VAC. This battery-based backup is supplemented with an integrated long-term fuel option using propane generators to keep you up and running for 30 days or more in an extended emergency scenario.

LED Advanced Lighting Solutions for Nuclear Stations

BlackStarTech Lightworks family delivers an array of advanced LED portable lighting products that utilize the same advanced Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries as Genesis. This allows BlackStarTech to deliver longer illumination durations compared to your average lighting device. BlackStarTech Lightworks consists of two product lines, the iSentient Smart Emergency Lighting Series and the BrightSites Series.

The Lightworks iSentient Series Smart Emergency Lighting Series delivers essential emergency lighting devices that meet all emergency and regulatory facility lighting specifications, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Appendix R requirements. The Lightworks iSentient Series operates on an internal DC battery for approximately 24 hours in a two-headlamp configuration, about 3 times longer than typical competitors that employ older Lead Acid batteries. In addition to a longer illumination duration, Lightworks features self-diagnostic predictive software. The Lightworks iSentient Series offers remote monitoring of the health and life of the battery. The predictive software combined with the excellent battery life provides the ability to remotely manage and maintain your smart emergency lighting across your facility, minimizing maintenance, surveillance manpower, and lifecycle costs while improving reliability.

BlackStarTech Lightworks BrightSites Series provides rapidly deployable portable lightpacks and outage tower lighting for nuclear stations that is rugged, exceptionally reliable, and easy to use.

BlackStarTech Family Product Lines of Backup Power and Emergency Lighting

Learn More about How BlackStarTech Can Work for You

BlackStarTech mitigates nuclear power plant risk and cost. To learn more about how BlackStarTech Genesis Emergency Power Systems augment the FLEX approach in the nuclear industry by providing rapidly deployable portable backup power contact us.

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