Smart Power Generation for data centers

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Fig. 6. The self-generation model for a gas-fired data center power plant.
to use the plant as a backup for high electricity prices in the local market, where the
plant startup would be triggered by high procurement prices, with the grid supply being
preferred when the prices are low.
Finally, there is the heat recovery option. When operating, an engine-generator set
generates a lot of heat which, instead of being discharged into the environment, may
very well be recovered for some practical application without any effect whatsoever on
electricity production. Generally, there are two key possibilities:
z Hot water: a system of heat exchangers may be installed to generate hot water,
z
used for heating buildings or industrial facilities. If there are heat consumers nearby,
hot water can be sold for an additional revenue flow.
z Cold water: heat recovered from engine cooling and exhaust gases may be directed
z
to absorption chillers, which use this energy to generate cooling power. This solution
can be used to generate cooling for the data center itself, replacing traditional
electricity-driven chillers and thus reducing the demand for electricity. It needs to be
noted though that the absorption chillers are relatively expensive, so this solution is
preferred for those facilities that really need forced cooling most of the time, such as
in hot climates. Generated chilled water could be sold to external users as well.
In both of those cases, all additional equipment is built as engine-wise systems, which
means that they do not affect the concurrent maintainability of the plant. They also may
be freely bypassed so that potential failures would not inhibit plant’s ability to generate
electricity.
5.2. MERCHANT PLANT CONCEPT
Alternatively, the gas-fired power plant can be used only as an emergency backup power
source for the data center, while most of the time it would operate independently as a
normal merchant generating station, selling its production to external customers. Thus,
for most of the time it would act just like a normal gas-engine power plant, simply co-
located with a data center. But in the event of any disruptions in the grid power supply,
it would automatically switch to the emergency power supply mode. If the plant was
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