In a first, battery powers black start of gas turbine

For the first time, GE has used energy storage in black starting one of its heavy duty gas turbines.

GE announced Wednesday that it had achieved the battery-assisted black start of a GE 7F.03 gas turbine at the 150-MW simple cycle unit located at Entergy Louisiana’s Perryville Power Station. The Perryville Power Station is supported by GE’s 7.4 MW battery-based energy storage system paired with the plant’s gas turbine.

“Black start technology proves that energy generation sources integrated with battery energy storage systems is a good method to effectively support the grid,” said Prakash Chandra, Renewable Hybrids CEO, GE Renewable Energy.

A “black start” consists of rebooting an idle power plant without drawing power from the grid. Black start capability is required especially when a major system disruption happens or during a widespread blackout. In such cases, power stations use small diesel generators to restart systems. However, GE has achieved the black start of a GE heavy-duty gas turbine using only energy storage.

The Perryville plant was commissioned in 2001.

“This is an innovative use of battery technology that provides another tool to buttress the overall reliability and resiliency of our system,” said Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana.