FEATURE : ENERGY
In some cases , this means keeping fossil fuel plants that had been scheduled for retirement operating beyond their scheduled shutdown . Other examples include running additional long distance power lines to existing fossil fuel plants or keeping such plants already connected to the grid running longer . While many of these strategies are successful in providing needed power to new data centres , an undesirable side effect is an increase in the carbon footprint .
While renewable power , wind and solar is capturing an increasing percentage of total generating capacity , these sources are not suitable as a primary source of data centre power without some form of reliable , 24x7 backup . The difficulty with renewable power is that both wind and solar depend on factors they cannot control , wind and sunshine and can only be depended upon to produce a fraction of their total rated power over an extended period of time .
The capacity utilization factor , CUF is a number derived by taking the actual power produced by a type of generation over a period of time , like a year , and dividing it by the maximum rated power a given installation can produce . Wind and solar have relatively low CUFs – around 25 % for solar and 35 – 40 % for wind .
Source : Power Shortages Will Restrict Generative AI Growth and Implementation by Gartner
grid demands . As an example , Amazon Web Services , AWS recently acquired a 1,200-acre data centre campus from Talen Energy . The facility , which can utilize up to 960MW of power , is adjacent to the Susquehanna nuclear power station .
This means that while renewables are an essential contributor of power to a wide ranging grid where power peaks during the day , they cannot be depended on to provide the type of power needed for data centre operation . This is also one of the primary
A key aspect of this deal is that the data centre gets guaranteed power directly from the power station , bypassing the traditional grid . Because the nuclear power facility also supplies power to the general grid , the deal is being challenged by other users who claim that it will raise prices for other users .
Green energy
Data centres require 24x7 reliable power and cannot afford to be affected by unscheduled brown-outs or blackouts or interruptions of their baseload power . Currently , most data centres get their power from regional power grids that have a variety of power sources and can provide the type of reliable power needed . However , the surging demand for power for new data centres is forcing public utility power suppliers to increase their production by any means possible .
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