One of the most exciting technologies for hydropower research today is hardware-in-the-loop testing. Any new component for a hydropower plant needs to be thoroughly tested before it is added to an existing power grid, but field tests are an incredibly expensive and disruptive endeavor. When a small, fixable problem causes a device to fail these tests, huge costs and delays often result. Hardware-in-the-loop lets engineers and researchers identify and correct problems before they get to the field-testing stage.

Hardware-in-the-loop testing for power systems integrates physical devices with computer simulations of power grids under variable conditions. By combining the physical and the virtual and utilizing the INL power systems test bed, researches can test a physical device against many more conditions than would occur during a standard field test at a fraction of the cost. Hardware-in-the-loop testing makes new devices safer by identifying flaws that limited field testing might never detect and saves money and time by ensuring that more devices are ready and likely to shine by the time they get to the field testing stage.

INL is using hardware-in-the-loop technology in partnership with Idaho Falls Power to test the integration of an ultracapacitor into the Idaho Falls run-of-river hydropower system. Just like a car with a bad battery, if the hydropower plant stops, it needs to be jump-started. The ultracapacitor will store electric charge and provide the short burst of power needed to restart the hydropower plant should an emergency shutdown occur. Currently, hydropower systems rely on power from elsewhere in the grid to restart after a shutdown. Introducing the capability for these systems to restart themselves is a game changer for system resilience and United States energy security.