47
Powering the data centre of the future What will the data centres of the future mean in terms of power?
R
businesses to reduce their consumption during demand peaks, which is again a less favourable outcome for smarter and cleaner technologies such as energy storage. It is likely that the Capacity Market will need to be amended to remove this seemingly structural bias against DSR and cleaner energy before the suspension can be lifted. This is good news for assets such as energy storage, which support the transition to cleaner sources through storing energy from renewables at times of excess generation for later use. Potential amendments that have been implemented in other markets, such as in France and Poland, gave preference to low-carbon generators and greater access to DSR asset owners. Enhanced business case This potential greater access to the Capacity Market for DSR asset owners will further increase the revenues that can be achieved from owning an energy storage solution. In addition to the savings that the solution can provide through reducing energy costs and missioncriticalpower.uk
increasing energy resilience, alongside the expected increase in value of DSR processes such as energy arbitrage, the business case for energy storage is set to be enhanced further. The importance to the UK electricity system of balancing the network through DSR is almost impossible to overstate. The balancing of the network enables the reliable supply of electricity, and for the economy of the UK and the everyday lives of its citizens to continue as normal. Through the energy transition, it is crucial that the balancing of the network also transitions in a way that best suits the changing energy landscape in order to best support the new ways in which energy will be transmitted, distributed and consumed. Energy storage is a vital component in balancing the network as it provides users with the flexibility required to partake in DSR while securing their own operations through site-wide UPS. The value of such technologies is enhanced when bespoke solutions can be made, which enable customers to select the features that are most relevant to their operations. l
iello’s Leo Craig recently addressed some of the industry’s key questions at Data Centre World. Speaking to MCP in an exclusive interview, he points out that 5G is going to change the way we process data and the way data is going to be used, while industry is going to be increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence, digitisation and big data. “The question is, will industrial sites use a cloud data centre, located many kilometres down the road, which will encounter latency issues; or are they going to use an edge data centre at the point of where the critical process is? I believe we are going to see a reversal of what has happened in the past – businesses previously moved away from on-premises data centres to the cloud, but parts of the cloud will now migrate down to the edge of the premises. We need to understand how we are going to power this,” says Craig. He believes the move to the edge will have a significant influence on future UPS design: “Modular solutions will be compatible with this trend but the power densities of modular systems will need to start increasing. The size of the UPS will also have to decrease. Space at the edge is going to be at a premium.” As the cloud moves to the
The size of the UPS will have to decrease. Space at the edge is going to be at a premium
edge, UPS systems will also need increasing intelligence. The next challenge will be around how to store the energy, Craig predicts. “There will be a number of pressures facing data centres in the coming years. This will include the fact that diesel generators are increasingly becoming an issue in terms of emissions – they are seen as polluting, even if only firedup under standby conditions. Diesel generators will come under increasing scrutiny and regulation, while future methods of energy storage may favour lithium-ion batteries. “This could be a good solution as you get high density. However, the cost is relatively low at present, as there is good availability of the raw materials required for their manufacture. This may not still be the case in five years’ time, however. If we start running out of lithium-ion, the price will start shooting up.” Craig believes innovation in battery technology will need to advance further. There will also be an increasing focus on corporate and social responsibility, with more organisations working with utilities to help level out power demands or manage the frequency. He says: “This may include frequency response, but the challenge will be to get data centres to understand that they can do this and that they can benefit financially… “While there is a lot of talk and interest around demandside response, getting data centres to actually make the final decision to go ahead is still a challenge. Data centres have had the ability to do this for the past 10 years, yet few data centres are actively involved. The government will need to get involved to make it happen.” l April 2019 MCP