LATEST INTELLIGENCE
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE DATA CENTER INDUSTRY
Renewable Energy in the Data Center Industry
PRESENTED BY by Marc Cram , BSEE , CDCD
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
According to a recent IEA publication , global data center electricity use in 2020 was 200 – 250 TWh , or around 1 % of global final electricity demand . Major builders of data centers are committing to building renewable power generation facilities along with their data centers , lessening the strain on the local utilities while also helping them to meet local , state , and federal requirements for renewable energy production .
This paper explores the short- and longterm ramifications the renewable power source has on the architecture of the power train in the data center .
HISTORICAL TRENDS OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE U . S .
According to the U . S . Energy Information Administration provided graph ( Figure 1 ), the United States has relied on coal , oil , and natural gas to provide most of the energy consumed since the early 1900s . The oil embargo of the 1970s , the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) during the Nixon administration , and the rampant smog pollution from vehicles and coalfired power plants spurred America to begin weaning itself off oil and coal as the primary fuels for power generation . Coupled with the needs of a growing population , it was essential to start investing in new sources of energy capable of scaling their outputs to match the ever increasing lifestyle and GDP of the country and the rest of the world . �
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