How tech giants could turn AI data centers into power grid allies
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Tech and utility giants are backing a new project that envisions data centers becoming a benefit to power grids, not just a huge source of energy demand.
Why it matters: AI-fueled data center growth risks straining grids and making decarbonization harder.
Driving the news: Enter "DCFlex," led by the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute, which aims to flip the script.
- Google, Duke Energy, Nvidia, Texas and Midwest grid regulators, Southern Co. and other heavyweights are among the members.
- "Flexible data center design and operation is a key strategy for accelerating AI development and realizing its benefits while minimizing costs, lowering carbon emissions, and enhancing system reliability," EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor said in a statement.
The big picture: EPRI's David Porter sees opportunities for data centers to operate more flexibly and reduce their needs during peak demand periods.
- That can mean using backup power onsite or even sending energy back to grids.
- Another plan is more use of renewables and low-carbon fuels to replace diesel for backup generation, said Porter, EPRI's VP of electrification and sustainable energy strategy.
"The low-carbon fuels could assist with air quality benefits, which would then enable greater run times for backup generation to be utilized as a grid resource," he said via email.
- Porter also said hyperscalers and utilities can better collaborate on timing of data center construction and arrival of new power assets.
What's next: DCFlex plans to create up to 10 "flexibility hubs" to work on the concepts. Demonstrations start in the first half of 2025.
