Limited grid contingency sparks data centre resilience opportunity

Author: Isha Jain

The announcement that British coal plants will be unavailable to support the National Grid this winter, could present an opportunity for energy intensive data centres to level up decentralisation efforts.

Although, previously shuttered coal plants were brought back online last winter to support the grid, two facilities are now confirmed to be in the decommissioning process and will be unable to supplement existing supply.

With the UK reliant on power imports from abroad and further strain expected, Billy Durie, Global Sector Head, Data Centres at Aggreko, is advocating facility operators to use this uncertainty as an opportunity to diversify their power mix, increase resilience and avoid downtime.

He says, “Concerns raised for the data centre sector from this lack of consistent supply are not new, but the situation is becoming increasingly challenging. Combined with increasingly stringent environmental legislation, such as the expansion of the London ultra-low emissions zone, owners and operators have an opportunity to continue green progress while increasing resilience. Green and efficient decentralised energy solutions, including battery energy storage systems, supporting or working independently of existing grid supply, can help avoid downtime and relieve grid strain.”

This approach to mitigating grid shortfalls and disruptions during peak periods was covered in Aggreko’s ‘Uptime on the Line’ report. Insights from 700 data centre professionals found that insufficient grid power was a key concern for operators across all major European markets, including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the Nordics. To address this, the report identifies tactical short term solutions and more strategic, long term options to lower grid dependency during this period of intense disruption, while more intermittent renewable power sources are implemented into the continent’s energy mix.

Billy concludes, “There is no doubt that some industries will need more power than ever, as we evolve into a renewable future and rely increasingly on digital innovations. For the data centre sector, where uptime is absolutely crucial, it is going to pay to get ahead of the game on decentralisation to avoid falling short when the grid is under more strain.

“Action must be taken now to safeguard both current and future operations, and this was the key motivator behind the development and launch of our latest report. I would urge data centre professionals to explore its findings, as they grapple with energy resilience challenges while making sustainable progress.”

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