Incident Energy Systems Model: User Guide and Examples

U.S. Forest Service (USFS) wildfire base camps use portable power for electrical needs, including yurts and trailers from which logistics staff work during the incident. These yurts and trailers are conventionally powered by portable diesel generators. Hybrid portable power systems consisting of a combination of solar photovoltaics (PV), battery energy storage systems (BESS), and/or backup diesel generators have been used in recent years and were piloted by the National Technology and Development Program (NTDP) on incidents in fall 2024 as part of NTDP's Portable Power Project. As part of that project, this work included the development of two Excel-based tools and two reports explaining the tools. The first tool, the Incident Energy Systems Model, is an Excel-based tool that models the power output of hybrid portable power systems powering yurts and/or trailers at fire camps over a typical day. This associated report outlines a user guide for the model and walks through two scenarios. The two scenarios are 1) trailers powered by rooftop solar PV, batteries, and a back-up diesel generator, and 2) trailers powered by ground mount solar PV, batteries, and a back-up diesel generator. The second tool is a high-level cost-benefit analysis of the same two types of portable power systems, and is location independent. The tool estimates the fuel cost savings of the hybrid power systems as compared to trailers powered by only diesel generators. The associated cost-benefit analysis report (published separately) includes a user guide for the Excel tool and results from the two scenarios. These resources were intended for USFS contracting officer engineers and NTDP engineers to analyze hybrid portable power systems for yurts and/or trailers in base camps. Although the Excel tools are not currently publicly available, the insights gained from their development and initial use, as described in these reports, could be applied to other scenarios involving portable power systems.