Data centers of the future could pair existing gas generation with wind, solar or battery storage, according to a new analysis, meeting the flood of new electricity demand from the tech industry without damaging grid reliability.
Policy experts at RMI, a clean energy think tank, says the “power couples” could help tech companies bring on new data centers faster than waiting in the standard grid interconnection queue. The model would also lower costs by relying on existing grid connections and by offsetting gas-powered generation with cheaper renewables, said Mark Dyson, managing director of RMI’s Carbon-Free Electricity Program.
“You don’t have to upgrade the grid because you’re using existing grid infrastructure,” Dyson said. “You’re just using it smarter.”
Some tech companies and data center developers have pitched either building power-hungry facilities with new power plants or pairing them with existing plants and drawing electricity directly from them. That could help them bypass crowded interconnection queues, but it also risks taking existing power off the grid at a time when demand is rising rapidly.
