Microsoft wants to export 'grid-interactive' Dublin datacenter setup Microsoft looks set to expand a battery energy storage project piloted at its Dublin datacenter to other bit barns operated by the company. The beast of Redmond told an audience at an energy conference that the battery energy storage system (BESS) deployment it had tested out in Ireland had shown what is possible. In June, …
I find these battery schemes interesting, but I'm not sure why you want risk depleting your emergency resources - what if a demand has stripped 50% of your capacity and then the power goes out completely? You'd only have 50% left to keep things going.
OK, in the case of Microsoft customers are now accustomed to the fact that Microsoft 365 definitely isn't so they would get away with it (another joyous benefit of customer lock in), but I see this happen in other places as well. How is this managed? I assume there's some sort of limit set on how much can be extracted so you can manage the risk?
Interesting tech.
Has the same thought... At a time that the grid is struggling you want to empty out your UPS units? No thanks!
What might make more sense is power management that varies the performance of kit based on demand information from the grid - cheaper lower tiers of computer could reduce power consumption when needed for workloads that aren't time critical?
Load shedding contracts are normal stuff nowadays. They are planned and scrutinised very closely as they have many "slippery-fish" clauses which keep CEO/CFO types up at night.
Normally companies involved have their own grading of loads they'll allow to be reduced or just voltage dropped in different demand scenarios. Those loads are then contracted out in return for beneficial tariffs and/or compensatory payments. This situation would appear to be a version of that in reverse, where in given circumstances the stored load can be bought back. I would assume the tariffs are graded depending how far into the resource the distribution company are dipping. There'll always be a limit beyond which no more is supplied due to the need you mention.
If anything it's more likely to lead to over-speccing of UPS systems beyond where they would have previously been cost effective, giving companies enhanced protection much of the time & only dipping back to previous levels of protection when drawn down. Similar things happen with solar generation sites where they get over specced in terms of output, with storage, to take the excess and flatten out the load curve either end of the day. That has a knock-on benefit in winter as the higher output is available during the peak, where a smaller system specced for year round averages would miss out. In a way MS are just being an enhanced battery for the green energy generators and getting a slice of the action without having to invest in the actual generation technology.
I hope the grid management software isn't theirs. On a day of a district level failure, you're going to be relying of that smart system being very smart if you're going to stay up.
My guess is that they use the grid information to decide how much battery to consume to prop up the DC and reduce their grid load at times of short supply thus helping keep prices low (in theory) for homes and reducing their costs.
Long term they will likely look to grid feed but I wonder how much of that is to do with generating revenue vs. an avenue to running the country's grid network and control.
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