Tech Talk | Meeting the data centres’ energy challenge with ‘bridging’ solutions

Hybrid bridging solutions such as battery energy storage alongside sustainable power systems offer an approach to meeting accelerating data centres’ energy demand, suggests Aggreko.

The growth in data centres is becoming of increasing concern in many areas as besides their individual energy use, they tend to concentrate in specific locations.

An example is Ireland, where recent figures from the Central Statistics Office show that data centre electricity consumption has increased by over four times from 5% in 2015 to 21% in 2023.

This is more electricity than all the urban homes in Ireland, which consumed 18%.

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And the country’s National Energy and Climate Plan indicates that future data centre demand is the primary influence on demand forecasting and could rise by a possible further 10% by 2030.

Ireland is by no means unique. Other countries in Europe are facing similar demands. For example, in addition to Dublin, demand for data centre space in the region’s other largest markets – Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris – exceeded supply in Q1 2024, according to commercial real estate services company CBRE.

Against this background and local challenges such as the long lead times for new generation grid connections, Aggreko has drawn attention to the need for decentralised solutions that could bridge the power gap for data centre construction and operations.

One such ‘green bridging solution’ proposed is battery energy storage, with the ability to offer a path towards less grid reliance through storing energy when demand is lower and which can be brought into play when needed.

Other solutions include stage V generators running on hydrotreated vegetable oil, with or without backup solar PV and/or battery storage, which can provide short to long-term power while reducing emissions by up to 90%.

Billie Durie, Global Sector Head of Data Centres at Aggreko, says that with the growth of the data centre market across Europe comes a greater need to ensure this growth remains sustainable.

“Increasing the already prominent use of decentralised power systems is paramount if the industry is to make itself self-sufficient,” he says.

“Using renewables is a part of this, but there needs to be an emphasis on using bridging solutions, as they are the key towards tackling the here-and-now for data centres.”

Data centres case studies

As an example of an installation, Aggreko cites a data centre in Dublin, where to accelerate the connection the company installed 12 next-generation gas generators providing 14MW of power as well as 10kV switchgear, transformers and auxiliary equipment that enabled the site to operate independent of a grid connection.

In addition, a fully integrated Li-ion battery was supplied, providing 1W power at 30 or 60 minutes, offering improved power quality, emission reductions and fuel savings.

The sets were ready to run from contracting to commissioning in 12 weeks, compared to the estimated two-year delay for grid connection.

A second case is a data centre in Denmark undergoing an upgrade, where for temporary on-site office cabins during the build phase a hybrid solution was proposed including three 320kVA generators plus a 300kW battery energy storage system.

By connecting all the gensets, they can be run in sync at high loads to provide the maximum 1000kVA power capacity.

The battery hybrid solution was set up in a little over two weeks.

Savings over a two-month period are calculated at £33,000 in fuel with 20,000l less fuel used and 53,000kg less emissions.

A third case is another, new data centre in Dublin, for which the solution comprised 24 1MW stage V generators providing 20MVA of power at 20kV.

These were staggered in deployment to meet the data centre’s ramp rate.

Savings over 12 months are calculated at £1 million-plus in fuel savings with over 786,000; less fuel used and 2,107t of carbon saved.

Durie points to Ireland as a warning sign for the rest of Europe, with the nation already beginning to struggle with demand.

“Here, bridging solutions have the power to keep things moving while also ensuring climate targets remain on track,” he concludes.

Jonathan Spencer Jones

Specialist writer
Smart Energy International

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