Cogeneration is positioned as an energy solution for data centers
A recent report published by COGEN World Coalition , a global cogeneration association of which the Spanish Cogeneration Association (ACOGEN) is a member, indicates that the growth and expansion of data centers represent a great opportunity for cogeneration, as it is a reliable and efficient technology capable of supplying all the electricity that these centers need.
In addition, these facilities provide a continuous supply of heat that can be used in absorption chillers that provide the cooling capacity needed to prevent servers and other equipment from overheating.
The report Meeting the energy needs of Data Centres: What role for cogeneration?, has been prepared by Challoch Energy for COGEN World Coalition. This comprehensive study brings together data and information from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Commission, among others.
According to the report, there are about 11,000 data centers worldwide, half of them in the United States. According to the US Department of Energy, data centers are expected to account for about 9% of the country’s total electricity consumption by 2030. In Ireland, they already account for 21% of measured electricity consumption.
Rapid expansion of data centers, a challenge for energy service companies
Data centres require a constant and reliable supply of power, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which means that national and regional power grids will come under increasing pressure. In addition, there is a considerable time lag between the growth of the IT sector and the expansion of the electricity grid. While data centres take one to two years to build, adding new capacity to the grid takes longer.
Advantages of cogeneration
The use of cogeneration to supply electricity and cooling capacity to data centres has significant growth potential. The advantages offered by cogeneration include:
• Significant cost savings when cogeneration is used as the primary energy source, with heat recovered and used to drive absorption chillers that provide continuous cooling without increasing electricity demand.
• Flexibility in the design and operation of a data center, facilitating expansion and development without depending on regional/national power grids.
• High energy efficiency and lower energy consumption, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions .
• Greater reliability, resilience and energy security .
Double the size
In the words of Thomas Smith, Chairman of the COGEN World Coalition : “Globally, data centres are a rapidly growing sector with significant energy requirements – up to 50% of the energy consumed by these centres is used for cooling. Cogeneration or trigeneration represents an optimal energy solution for data centres because it can provide a reliable supply of electricity independent of the power grids and meet cooling demands through the use of absorption cooling technology. Cogeneration should therefore be recognised as an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable way to meet the energy needs of data centres around the world.”
Depending on its size, a data center can consume up to 100 MW of electricity or more. Half of this energy is used for cooling, in order to maintain a temperature below 25 degrees Celsius at all times. The other 50% is used for IT equipment (37%), power conversion (10%) and lighting (3%).
Due to trends such as automation and AI (Artificial Intelligence), the energy demand of data centers worldwide is expected to double by 2027.
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Cogeneration is positioned as an energy solution for data centers, source
