FUEL CELL POWER PLANT CONTROL TO PREVENT REACTANT STARVATION DURING ISLANDED MODE OF OPERATION

An illustrative example controller for a fuel cell power plant includes at least one processor and memory associated with the processor. The processor is configured to control operation of the fuel cell power plant during an islanded mode of operation wherein the fuel cell power plant provides output power to a load. The processor is configured to control the operation of the fuel cell power plant in the islanded mode by adjusting a droop gain of the controller to change the output power of the fuel cell power plant in response to a change in demand from the load. While adjusting the droop gain, the processor is configured to maintain a portion of the demand from the load met by the output power of the fuel cell power plant within a predetermined allocation of islanded mode load sharing assigned to the fuel cell power plant, maintain a ramp up rate of the output power of the fuel cell power plant within a predetermined maximum ramp up capability of the fuel cell power plant, and maintain a frequency of the output power of the fuel cell power plant within a predetermined range.