Can’t get a connection to the grid to power your data centre?
There is a solution. Build your own power supply.
The Republic of Ireland has problems with the grid that will feel wearily familiar to those waiting it out in the lengthy queue for connections in Britain. New projects face delays because they can’t get connected. There are bottlenecks in transmission capacity. Meanwhile Ireland, just like the UK, wants to be a leader in the global tech arms race. That means more and more data centres, sucking up ever-increasing amounts of electricity.
This was the scenario facing data centre developer Pure DC as it planned a new data centre campus just outside Dublin. Having paid for a grid connection that never materialised, Pure turned to AVK, a provider of power solutions for data centres and AI infrastructure, to create a gas-fired 110MW microgrid, providing the site with an independent power source. AVK claims the project is the first of its type in Europe.
The micro-grid scheme follows a period in which new data centre connections have been heavily restricted in Ireland because of concerns about the amount of power data centres are using (on average, as much as 20-22% of total electricity demand; the figure is higher in Dublin). Amid fears about potential power shortages, grid operator EirGrid began delaying data centre applications – or refusing them outright.
Things are changing. This year, Ireland introduced a Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP), a national strategy dictating data centres can be built if they fund their own electricity generation and storage. The basic idea is that data centres should be capable of generating as much power as they take out of the grid. Ultimately, data centres such as Pure DC’s Dublin facility could provide dispatchable power.
Gary Wojtaszek, a CyrusOne veteran who has just stepped into the executive chairman and interim CEO at Pure, says it makes sense to flip the formidable power consumption of data centres to supply the grid. “There is 6GW of capacity in the country [Ireland] and an estimated 2GW is power for data centres. That means by default there’s [the possibility of] 2GW of power generation here.”
AVK points out that microgrids are already being widely used in the US to power data centres. Pure’s Wojtaszek, who is based in Texas, adds: “If I am going to put all this power [demand] on the grid, I am happy to provide any ancillary power back to the grid in times of need. In Texas, it gets hot in the summer, and everyone likes to run their air conditioning. In the winter we have ice storms and power plants fall offline.
“We can provide that power.”
Generators aim for perfect reliability
The AVK microgrid for Pure DC in Dublin will eventually comprise three energy centres, each generating 30MW of power (the remaining 20MW is provided by battery storage). The initial pilot phase features operational Rolls-Royce mtu generators backed up with engines that run on premium hydrotreated vegetable oil, which ensures security of supply if gas is lost, and can provide 72 hours of back-up power.
When the project is finished, each energy centre will be powered by three 10MW Wärtsilä generators running on natural gas. Pure DC claims that “100% of operational gas use is matched with certified biomethane”. This is verified using Irish Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin certificates and EU Biomethane Guarantees of Origin, the company says.
A battery energy storage system (BESS) is already storing power at the pilot plant and will also be used in the remaining energy centres. The BESS helps to manage load fluctuations and enhance efficiency, improving response times and enabling more optimal engine operation. Should the data centre supply the grid in the future, the BESS system will help enable the required inertia.
The system is designed to have near perfect (99.999%) availability, replicating the reliability of the traditional grid. “If a data centre goes down, billions can be lost,” says Charlotte Berry-Selwood, chief delivery officer at AVK. That means there is a maximum of perhaps “300 seconds a year of downtime”. “So you are working to very fine margins.” A data centre outage means customers chasing for compensation, she adds. “So there is real pressure.”
The microgrid’s capability to provide dispatchable power will only become a reality once there is a grid connection, explains Ben Pritchard, chief executive of AVK. “So you have still got that timeline before you even start to think about connecting microgrids.”
But he thinks the type of scenario encouraged by Ireland’s new LEAP regulations (data centres providing equivalent power supply to consumption) could happen in the UK. “In Britain, peaking plants are more of a feature, and the markets are mature. We’ve seen the UK successfully remove coal by having gas-fired peaking plant in the north of England, but they are normally 10MW.” Britain may have to develop systems designed to cater for the higher potential power supply capabilities of data centres, Pritchard adds.
Berry-Selwood says she would “love to see” data centres in the UK providing power. With 15 years’ experience in the sector, she adds that the conversation around data centre sustainability has evolved to encompass not just the type of power or amount of water consumed by data centres, but also the level of electricity consumption and impact on society.
“We didn’t have discussions about power availability three or four years ago. And when it came to connections, it was plug and play. But if the power going to a data centre takes up the same amount of power as a small town, who’s losing out?”
The Pure DC campus in Dublin could play a part in ensuring no one does.
Develop your own power? It may be the best way of ensuring data centres don’t place unsustainable burdens on our electricity infrastructure.
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