Microgrids: New Thinking on Data Center Power
Data center downtime is increasing, and according to the Uptime Institute, power outages are the main culprit.
Failures of critical power systems accounted for 36% of the more than 100 publicly recorded service outages since 2016. Due to increased interdependency of applications spread across organizations and geographies, the cost of downtime is also trending higher. Over a third of the 100 outages reviewed by Uptime Institute cost more than $250,000 while three cost more than $20 million.
The electric grid upon which most data centers still depend has never been more vulnerable. There were more than 3,500 U.S. grid outages in 2017, the vast majority of which were attributed to faults in the transmission and distribution system. The growing frequency of extreme weather events is exacerbating these challenges.
In some areas, rising temperatures are driving up the cost of data center cooling just as droughts are causing water scarcity challenges. In other areas, extreme rainfall and flooding have damaged equipment, blocked roads, and prevented diesel fuel deliveries which are so critical to the longevity of traditional backup power solutions.
And power costs continue to spiral upwards. The global cost of power for data centers is expected to increase 80% in the next five years. At 35% of total costs, electric power continues to represent the largest portion of data center operating costs.
Last but not least, with data centers accounting for more than 2% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, the industry desperately needs sustainable power options.
The time is right for new thinking on data center power.
Bloom Energy Solutions for Data Centers
Bloom Energy provides an advanced distributed power generation solution based on our proprietary solid oxide fuel cell technology. We provide customers with a reliable, resilient, sustainable, and more cost-effective alternative to the electric grid.
Our solution, the Bloom Energy Server, is an on-site stationary power generation platform, capable of delivering uninterrupted, 24x7 baseload power that is fault tolerant, resilient, and clean.
By generating power on-site, at the point of consumption, rather than centrally, Bloom Energy Servers help customers eliminate the cost, complexity, interdependencies, and inefficiencies associated with electric transmission and distribution.
Bloom Energy Data Center Customers
Bloom Energy Servers have been successfully implemented in 40 data centers throughout the U.S. including at eBay, AT&T, Equinix, and JP Morgan. Here are a couple of their stories.
How It Works
The Bloom Energy Server converts fuel into electricity without combustion, using solid oxide fuel cell technology. The system generates electricity significantly more efficiently than a conventional power plant. It also generates cleaner electricity, with 50% less CO2 emissions than the average of the U.S. power generation portfolio.
When configured to provide uninterruptible power, Bloom Energy Servers can also provide primary power for data centers with up to the equivalent of Uptime Institute Tier IV availability and reliability without reliance on traditional backup or power conditioning equipment.
- Resilient: Fuel supplied by underground natural gas pipeline is significantly more reliable than above ground electric grid.
- Always-On: Bloom Energy Servers provide 24x7, always-on, primary power. Our systems are already running when the grid goes down.
- Redundant Architecture: Each component in the Bloom Energy Server architecture is built with native redundancy, assuring 99% uptime.
- Cost-Effective: Bloom Energy Servers provide savings against the grid while simultaneously reducing the need for idle backup equipment.
Bloom Energy Versus Mission Critical Power Alternatives
A review of power options was conducted and the above table is a comparison summary of a Bloom Energy solution, grid plus standard backup equipment, and a distributed solar plus storage system. For the key priorities of data centers, namely power quality, mission critical reliability, and maximum resiliency, Bloom Energy’s solution is unmatched. Learn more by downloading the white paper and reaching out to the data center solution experts at Bloom Energy.
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