The Renewable Energy Transition: Considerations for Today’s Data Center

Data centers are demanding more and more electricity to power AI and other advanced applications. AI and continued cloud adoption are the primary drivers of hyperscale data center growth. Rack density is rising as data centers adopt more power-hungry GPUs to support AI. GPUs can consume up to four times as much power as CPUs. Put another way, a traditional data center at full capacity requires only a quarter of the power needed to run AI workloads.

Gaining access to adequate sources of power for a data center facility is increasingly difficult. Additionally, obtaining the required on-site electrical infrastructure equipment such as generators, switchgear and other components remain constrained, with lead times of as much as two years or more. Some utilities estimate that it will take five years to provide the additional capacity data centers need, creating significant delays in data center development projects.

Sustainability is another countervailing factor. Data centers are increasingly concerned about direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts. Internal objectives, market conditions, public opinion and policy mandates are driving commitments to achieve net-zero emissions.

Alternative energy lies at the convergence of these issues. Increasing supplies of alternative energy promise to ease power constraints while enabling data centers to meet their sustainability goals. However, getting this power to the data center remains a significant hurdle.

Wesco’s Alan Farrimond discusses the obstacles data centers face transitioning to renewable energy and ways to meet power demands and sustainability goals.

Read the full article online from Data Center Frontier to learn more