• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Featured / Google Looks to Batteries as Replacement for Diesel Generators

Google Looks to Batteries as Replacement for Diesel Generators

By Rich Miller - December 16, 2020 Leave a Comment

Google Looks to Batteries as Replacement for Diesel Generators

The blinking lights of racks of Google servers glow in a darkened data hall in St. Ghislain, Belgium. (Image: Google)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Google will use large batteries to replace the diesel generators at one of its data centers in Belgium, describing the project as a first step towards using cleaner technologies to provide backup power for its millions of servers around the world.

“Our project in Belgium is a first step that we hope will lay the groundwork for a big vision: a world in which backup systems at data centers go from climate change problems to critical components in carbon-free energy systems,” said Joe Kava, Vice President for Data Centers at Google. “We’re aiming to demonstrate that a better, cleaner solution has advanced far enough to keep the internet up and running.”

Google becomes the second major hyperscale cloud operator to pursue a strategy to move beyond diesel generators. In July, Microsoft said it will eliminate its reliance on diesel fuel by the year 2030 and has begun testing hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative. These announcements have implications beyond company-built facilities, as Google and Microsoft are major tenants in third-party data centers, most of which use diesel generators for backup power.

Kava says broader use of batteries can accelerate the shift away from fossil fuel, enabling data centers and electric utilities to overcome the intermittent nature of renewable sources like wind and solar power. That’s a particular problem for data centers, which must provide uninterrupted power around the clock, in all weather conditions.

“Wind and solar power are currently booming around the world, but sunny days and breezy hours don’t always align with a community’s energy demand,” Kava said in a blog post. “Large-scale batteries at data centers can address this problem by banking renewable power when it’s abundant, and discharging it when it’s needed.”

Google’s research with battery technologies is part of a larger push to collaborate with utilities to create a more sustainable power grid. “Batteries can help balance other kinds of variability on power grids, allowing for more cost-effective and efficient operations,” said Kava. “Working in partnership with ELIA, the local transmission system operator in Belgium, we’ll strive to make our project a model for how data centers can become anchors for carbon-free electric grids.”

Lithium-Ion, Deployed at Scale

The pilot project at Google’s Belgium data center will begin in the summer of 2021, and will use large lithium-ion batteries to replace generators, according to Maud Texier, Carbon Free Energy Lead at Google.

“Once the batteries come online, they will first be tested operating in tandem with generators to validate the performance,” said Texier. “We perceive it as the first-of-a-kind opportunity. We are replacing the diesel generators with batteries on a one-to-one basis, demonstrating the maturity of the batteries.” Texier said Google is currently working with a single vendor, which is not being disclosed.

Google isn’t alone in pursuing broader use of large-capacity batteries. Switch recently unveiled plans to use new large-scale energy storage technology from Tesla to boost its use of solar energy for its massive data center campuses in Las Vegas and Reno.

The price of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by about 80 percent over the past five years, according to the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), enabling the integration of storage into solar power systems. In the third quarter of 2019, the United States saw a 93% increase in the amount of storage deployed, compared to the previous year.

Free Resource from Data Center Frontier White Paper Library

Edge Cloud
The Benefits of Edge Cloud On-Ramps for CSPs & End Users
Download the new report from EdgeConneX to explore the public cloud's performance, security and cost issues and examine what can be done to resolve them. The white paper also explains the cost, performance, security and other benefits of leveraging edge cloud on-ramps access to access the hyper scale public cloud providers, and examines how CSPs can use this local infrastructure to promote their own connectivity infrastructure. 
We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

Get this PDF emailed to you.

Addressing Technical Challenges

To work in data centers, utility-scale batteries must address two challenges – meeting the capacity requirements, and providing the duration to write out a lengthy outage.

“We see capacity as a low risk,” said Texier, who worked in the battery program at Tesla prior to joining Google in 2019. “We expect batteries to have a very similar modularity as generators. It’s been well demonstrated at similar scale.”

The largest single-site lithium-ion battery installation is the 150-megawatt Hornsdale Power station in Australia, with a handful of other projects in development that will surpass 100 megawatts of battery capacity.

Addressing duration is a more complex challenge. “It’s not just finding the right technologies, but how we look at our load and optimizing our compute during these events,” said Texier.

The goal is “load flexibility” for prolonged outages, which could mean shifting compute workloads to other Google data centers, but also might mean tapping other energy sources.

“Batteries are one piece of the puzzle,” said Texier. “We would expect to look at other technologies as well.”

Building a Greener, More Stable Grid

As some of the world’s largest energy users, cloud computing platforms possess the scale and buying power to reshape the supply chain for computing. Data centers have become important players in power markets, with growing clout but also increased exposure to the complexities of pricing and capacity. Google has gained approval from the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission (FERC) to buy and sell electricity in energy markets, which creates opportunities for collaboration – especially with backup power.

An on-site solar energy array at the Google data center campus iin Belgium. (Photo: Google)

An on-site solar energy array at the Google data center campus iin Belgium. (Photo: Google)

“Whereas diesel generators sit idle most of the year, batteries are multi-talented team players: when we’re not using them, they’ll be available as an asset that strengthens the broader electric grid,” said Kava.

Texier said Google will be looking at new market models for working with utilities on the grids where the company operates data centers. “Grid services are not new to Google,” said Texier. “The challenge is how we pave a path to show the way for others in the industry to follow.”

Google hopes the Belgium pilot project can lay the groundwork for a larger transition in data center backup power, with battery-powered campuses supporting sustainable grids. Kava says the data center industry could drive meaningful change on climate.

“Worldwide, we estimate there are over 20 gigawatts of backup diesel generators in service across the data center industry, representing a massive opportunity to deploy cleaner solutions.,” said Kava.

The efforts by Google and Microsoft to develop alternatives to diesel generators illustrates the potential for hyperscale operators to drive change within the supply chain for data center services.

Matching Every Hour with Clean Energy

Google is a huge consumer of energy, especially in its data center operations. In 2019 the company consumed 12 terawatt hours of energy, more than doubling its total from 2016. But the company is also the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, offsetting 100 percent of its power usage.

In September, Google CEO Sundar Pichai outlined Google’s intentions to invest more in energy storage as part of a move to power its entire global information empire entirely with carbon-free energy by 2030, matching every hour of its data center operations to carbon-free energy sources. The Google data center team has been working since 2018 to use artificial intelligence and sophisticated energy provisioning to match its operations to carbon-free energy sources.

“We’ve been working for years to push Google toward a zero-carbon future – from our achievement of carbon neutrality since 2007, to reaching 100 percent renewable energy every year since 2017, and now pursuing our most ambitious goal yet, 24/7 carbon-free electricity by 2030,” said Kava.

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Generators, Google, Lithium-Ion Batteries, Renewable Energy, Solar, Wind

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.

About Rich Miller

I write about the places where the Internet lives, telling the story of data centers and the people who build them. I founded Data Center Knowledge, the data center industry's leading news site. Now I'm exploring the future of cloud computing at Data Center Frontier.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

How to Simplify Distributed IT Management? Focus on the Tools to Improve Flexibility and Efficiency

How to Simplify Distributed IT Management? Focus on the Tools to Improve Flexibility and Efficiency Russell Senesac, Director of Data Center Strategy at Schneider Electric, explores how to address distributed IT management and the tools available today.

DCF Spotlight

The COVID-19 Crisis and the Data Center Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic presents strategic challenges for the data center and cloud computing sectors. Data Center Frontier provides a one-stop resource for the latest news and analysis for decision-makers navigating this complex new landscape.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

White Papers

data center site

Five Things To Know About Data Center Site Selection

A data center is a long-term investment, and choosing a location requires being sensitive both the needs of the business and the surrounding community.  If selecting a site for a hyperscale facility, get the new special report that explores five rules of the road to keep your business and the surrounding community in perfect harmony. 

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Peter Kazella and Associates, Inc

  • Senior Mechanical Engineer - Baltimore, MD
  • UPS Field Service Technician - Danbury, CT
  • Navy Nuke - Park Ridge, NJ
  • Account Executive - Data Center Solutions - Portland, OR
  • Account Executive - Data Center Solutions - Piscataway, NJ

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 15 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • White Paper

Copyright Data Center Frontier LLC © 2021