The Power of Data: Sustainable bridging power application for hyperscale Data Center expansion

During the expansion of one of its Data Centers, a major cloud data provider was faced with insufficient power supply due to grid constraints. With a total power consumption cap from the utility of 200 MW across its multiple sites in the region, the lack of sufficient power would limit the installation of new server racks in one of the recently built facilities and halt the construction of a new Data Center building. To meet the pressures of growing data processing demands, additional commissioning power was needed within a short timeframe, which meant waiting for the completion of Utility upgrades was not an option.

Despite the Data Center having back-up power on-site, local emission regulations and the OEM warranties on the generation equipment limited their use for extended periods outside of a critical power grid failure. To avoid voiding the manufacturer warranty, comply with emission legislation and to meet critical peak power demands for its rapid infrastructure expansion, the cloud provider needed a reliable bridging power supply.

With millions of global users relying on the hyperscale Data Center services and considering its energy-intensive nature, it was critical that this solution be implemented rapidly and provide optimal reliability and uptime, while also complying with stringent state sustainability and noise requirements.

With a successful track record for providing right-sized, scalable, and on-demand power solutions, Aggreko was the perfect fit for the customer’s peak loading power needs. Given the requirement for rapid deployment, 100% uptime, low emissions, and low noise, we designed and commissioned a bridging power plant using our best-in-class ultra-low emissions Tier 4F generators to meet the initial requirement for 10 MW, with the flexibility to scale up or down according to demand.

Aggreko installed 48 x 1200 kW Tier 4 Final generators across two hubs, totaling 48 MW of continuous operational power, designed to operate to an N+2 standard to deliver optimal system resilience. Additionally, the solution was designed using a right sized load-on-demand approach, employing a fully automated control system to power the generators up or down as the sites’ power requirements changed. As a part of the tailored solution, Aggreko also provided all necessary interconnection and transformation equipment, managed the permitting process, conducted L1-L4 testing for commissioning, and supplied on-site 24/7 technical support.

Aggreko’s tailored turnkey solution met the cloud provider’s peaking power needs in a grid constrained environment, allowing them to increase their data processing capabilities. The fully managed peaking plant and the use of ultra-low emissions generators delivered optimal reliability, led to significant savings in potential lost revenues and helped meet sustainability targets by reducing regulated emissions by 94% on Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), 90% on Carbon Monoxide (CO), 90% on Total Hydrocarbons (THC)* as compared to standard Tier 2 generators.

Additionally, the load-on-demand project design significantly optimized the use of the Tier 4 Final generators based on the cloud provider’s changing power needs and grid availability, leading to maximized operational efficiencies and cost savings associated with lower fuel consumption.

With our reliable, tailor-engineered turnkey solution, the operator was able to largely off-load power concerns to a trusted partner and focus on achieving expansion targets, leading to on-time and on-budget project completion, and the ability to successfully meet the growing pressures of critical data processing demands.

*The emissions savings demonstrated is assuming 48 MW running 12hrs/day, 28 days/mo for 12 months, Tier 2 vs. Tier 4 Final generators.