HS060 Power Micro-Generation for Data Center

Powering data centres is big deal in current decade. Massive increases in consumption and scaling of off-prem clouds has exceeded the capacity of civilian power grids while cloud operators are reluctant to sign thirty year supply agreements so that more power plants can be built. Enter power micro-generation where too large DCs needs too small power supply. * How much power does a mega-cloud data center need ? * Generally measured in megawatts, as best I can tell in 50-100 megawatt range. * Northern Virginia has more data centers than the sixth through the 15th largest markets combined (New York Tri-State, Atlanta, Austin-San Antonio, Houston, Southern California, Seattle, Denver, Boston, Charlotte-Raleigh and Minneapolis) and almost as much as the second through fifth largest markets combined (Dallas-Fort Worth, Silicon Valley, Chicago and Phoenix). * Most renewable capacity in Virginia (approximately 1,700 megawatts) is contracted in corporate PPAs. * Facebook is the largest buyer with 562 megawatts of contracted capacity. Other notable buyers are Amazon with 452 megawatts, Microsoft with 335 megawatts, T-Mobile with 178 megawatts and Apple with 134 megawatts. While wind power, particularly offshore wind, is expected to gain traction in Virginia, all of the corporate contracted capacity in Virginia to date is from solar projects. * https://www.projectfinance.law/publications/2020/october/powering-data-centers/ * First reported by The Times, the application from Amazon requests 105 backup diesel generators and four diesel-powered fire pumps to be located at the data center site in Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park. The units will have the ability to general a total of 674MW of power. Industrial emissions licenses are required when units are expected to generate more than 50MW of power Microsoft reportedly intends to build 22 gas generators with a combined capacity of 162MW that would be used for 2,920 hours a year at its site in Grange Castle Business Park near Clondalkin, Dublin Source https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/aws-buys-105-back-up-diesel-generators-for-new-data-center-in-dublin/ * Diesel engines create significant toxic emissions (NoX, CO2, particulates) and must be maintained and tested. Fuel also need replacing on a regular basis, typically every one or two years. * Coal Power Station: Coal power plants typically have a capacity ranging from 500 megawatts (MW) to 1,600 MW or more, with an average output of around 70-90% of their capacity. Nuclear Power Station: Nuclear power plants tend to have larger capacities, often exceeding 1,000 MW, and they typically run at high capacity factors, approaching 90% or higher. * Wind and Solar Power Stations: These power stations are highly dependent on weather conditions. A typical wind turbine might have a capacity of 2-3 MW, while solar farms can vary widely in size, with some exceeding 100 MW. The average output can be significantly lower than the installed capacity due to the intermittent nature of wind and solar resources. * Biomass Power Station: Biomass power plants can vary in size, but they often have capacities in the range of 10-50 MW, depending on the feedstock and technology used.