Navigating the capacity limitations in Europe’s energy landscape is at the top of many data centre operators’ agendas. The need to make sure that concrete plans are in place has never been more pressing, with uncertainty still rife about meeting capacity goals while managing costs and resilience. With the way forward still up for debate, Chris Rason, Managing Director – Energy Solutions Europe at Aggreko, shares his insights on how data centres can navigate the future of the industry while embracing both sustainability and efficiency.
In a continuously evolving world, we are only going to see the need for new data centres increase. But, with regulations becoming tighter, including the need for data centres to report to the European Union about energy and water use, many are looking for energy solutions that support growth while navigating these issues.
The on-going capacity issues in Europe have the potential to cause problems for those seeking to avoid potentially costly downtime, with the Uptime Institute’s Annual Outage Analysis 2024 detailing power as the leading cause of impactful incidents or outages among its respondents.
However, there is an opportunity to plan around these issues while still maintaining a high level of performance and efficiency through short-term and long-term solutions.
Looking at short-term solutions
One way of avoiding potential capacity and outage issues would be through accessing short-term temporary power solutions. With Europe’s under-strain power grids showing little signs of easing up, using shorter-term solutions can offer reliable and stable connections when traditional systems fail.
The costs of outages are high. Over half (54%) of respondents to the Uptime Institute’s 2023 survey said their most recent significant, serious or severe outage cost more than US$100,000, with a further 16% saying that their most recent outage cost more than US$1 million. But, through having the right support, these potential disruptions can be prepared for.
Uptime is not the only thing that short-term solutions have the potential to assist with. With sustainability at the forefront of the minds of operators, hiring short-term solutions can help support the transition to greener sources of power.
The EU’s new data centre reporting rules are a part of the larger regulatory package that will come into effect in September 2024, with the ultimate objective being to reduce energy consumption across its member states by 11.7% between 2020 and 2030.
Data centres are being targeted by these new regulations due to the energy intensity of the sector. Recent figures have suggested that data centres across the continent are estimated to consume 2% to 3% of all energy used in the EU, and, with AI and other processes continuing to gather pace, this is only likely to increase.
These changes to more sustainable energy processes aren’t likely to be quick, which is where short-term solutions come in. Overcoming the uptime challenge when transitioning requires careful planning, which can be offered by choosing to use a system like this.
To ensure solutions provided as part of a short-term contract are efficient and as green as possible, Aggreko has been working with customers across Europe on delivering Greener Upgrades. This model allows energy requirements to be satisfied while introducing different technologies to reduce emissions and even save energy by reducing consumption.
A good example of this would be using Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in conjunction with a Stage V diesel, gas or HVO generator set. This can help to reduce the amount of fuel consumed and supply a spinning reserve of energy storage, which further reduces spikes of consumption during peak usage periods.
Another popular solution in Europe, particularly in Italy, Spain and the Benelux countries, is using solar power to provide energy storage for peak periods. This helps accelerate decarbonisation while reducing the first steep cost of moving over, which could involve downtime.
Planning for long-term solutions
Many operators across Europe are also seeing success with Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). Differing to traditional short-term contracts, these are based on providing power on the unit cost of energy rather than simply the cost of the equipment hire. This allows for greater flexibility in overcoming resilience and uptime issues, especially due to its flexibility to work with and without national grid systems.
PPAs also offer a truly adaptable agreement which can develop as new technologies come to the forefront, such as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). This can help bring down costs further, while also still being on the cusp of the latest advances.
But a key reason that PPAs are being considered is the fact they give the guarantee of price certainty for energy during a time when we have seen huge volatility in prices across Europe. They also offer significant sustainability benefits, such as the adoption of solar as part of PPAs or other renewable sources.
Maintaining uptime and resilience
With energy-intensive industries now under huge pressure to reduce their usage and increase their sustainability methods, there’s never been a more important time to consider the use of short-term and long-term sustainability options. With financial constraints, among other things, slowing down the transition to new technologies, temporary solutions offer a middle ground where operators can be flexible in their approach without accumulating huge costs.
Getting the right solution is key, which is why working with an energy solutions partner, large energy users from across Europe can accelerate their transition with minimal disruption to operations.
