System and method for automated clean energy blackstart for backup auxiliary power, microgrid customer loads, and utility grid

A method for performing blackstarts of a plant from a shutdown mode, wherein the plant includes at least one microgrid for powering one or more customer loads and wherein the plant, when grid-tied, provides power to or receives the power from at least part of a grid that is operated by a utility, wherein the plant when islanded is disconnected from providing or receiving power to the at least part of the grid, and wherein the blackstart for the at least one microgrid or the at least the part of the grid comprise a soft blackstart and a hard blackstart, wherein the soft blackstart at least partly precharges at least one transformer prior to grid-forming and wherein the hard blackstart does not precharge the at least one transformer prior to grid-forming, the method comprising:

• responsive to receiving an indication to perform at least one blackstart:
• checking status of one or both of at least one islanding breaker that islands the plant from the grid or at least one isolation breaker that isolates the plant from the one or more customer loads;
• checking capacity to at least meet load that is energized in performing a customer load blackstart or a utility blackstart;
• performing a plant auxiliary blackstart in order to blackstart one or more feeders within the plant, thereby grid-forming an auxiliary feeder within the plant;
• dynamically determining a blackstart sequence of performing, after performing the plant auxiliary blackstart, the customer load blackstart and thereafter the utility blackstart or performing the utility blackstart and thereafter the customer load blackstart, wherein the customer load blackstart blackstarts the at least one microgrid for powering the one or more customer loads, thereby grid-forming the at least one microgrid, wherein the utility blackstart blackstarts the at least part of the grid, thereby grid-forming the at least part of the grid;
• determining, for the customer load blackstart and for the utility blackstart, whether to perform the soft blackstart or the hard blackstart;
• and
• performing the blackstart sequence, using the soft blackstart or the hard blackstart as determined, for the customer load blackstart of the at least one microgrid and for the utility blackstart of the at least part of the grid.