These backup systems can also be increasingly grid-interactive and data centers can be used as a key component for grid stability to the benefit of local residents and communities.įorbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives.Have a Data Backup solution from Chicago Digital Homes, and never lose a file again There is a road that data center operators can take by sourcing renewable diesel, adding battery storage and replacing diesel generators with fuel cells powered with green hydrogen when green hydrogen becomes available at scale. However, today’s grid instability is shining a light on the need to make these long-term backup systems emit less harmful carbon emissions as they are going to be in operation much more frequently. Void of catastrophic events, the emissions were limited to monthly or quarterly diesel generator testing. Historically, long-term backup power diesel-powered systems for data centers were only used during very rare catastrophic events. For that reason, significant renewable electrical generation capacity will need to come on-line before green hydrogen can become abundant and viable. Therefore, the process must use renewable energy supply everywhere in the entire supply chain for green hydrogen to emit zero carbon during operations. Green hydrogen will be produced from water in an energy-intensive application by electrolysis.Ĭompressing, liquifying, transporting and storing the green hydrogen is also very energy intensive. Blue hydrogen involves fossil fuels and carbon capture and is roughly 10%-12% lower GHG emitting than standard gray hydrogen. Step 3: Fuel Cells Powered With Green Hydrogenĭiesel generators will likely be replaced with fuel cells that have cleaner fuel options such as blue or green hydrogen. And when there is a surplus in renewable supply, instead of curtailing renewable production, this surplus energy is used to charge the battery storage. When this battery system is charged with renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro), it emits zero carbon during operation. Along with being capable of reacting to supplying backup power to the data center during extended outages, they can also be used to alleviate grid stresses that can cause outages.įor example, if the grid is subject to very high power demand on the entire grid, as is common during a heat wave, data centers can use their microgrid systems to reduce load on the grid, improving overall grid flexibility. Step 2: Battery Energy StorageĪ two-hour lithium-ion battery can transform a data center into a distributed energy resource (DER) living on the grid. Even better, converting tallow, used cooking oil and distillers corn oil to RD could achieve up to 86% lower GHG than petroleum diesel, but these feedstocks have a very limited supply. These are second-generation biodiesels and are a direct substitute for traditional petroleum diesel at 100%.Īccording to Argonne National Laboratory, RD from soybean, canola and carinata oils range from 40% to 69% GHG reductions. Green renewable diesel (also known as RD) is produced from oilseed crops, distillers corn oil, used cooking oil and tallow. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research indicates that biodiesel, which has the chemical name fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), emits 11% less carbon monoxide than traditional diesel, but biodiesel can only be mixed with traditional diesel at a 5%-20% ratio, which limits its impact. There are actually two different things-biodiesel and green diesel with different properties and carbon footprints. The first step I recommend when taking this journey to higher sustainability is to start mixing your petroleum diesel with biodiesel or, even better, a green renewable diesel “drop-in.” Although noisy and inefficient, they are reliable. Traditional, petroleum diesels have been around for a long time.
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