How Data Centers Are Working With Utilities To Improve Power Availability
Data Center Knowledge, Wednesday, May 15th, 2024
Even before the AI revolution (or bubble) took off in 2023, datacenters already used a decent amount of electricity. And the industry's increasing appetite for machine learning will require even more power.
The estimates for the amount of power AI-infused datacenters might use are incredible. "By taking a middle figure of 300 TWh for the annual global datacenter power consumption, Uptime Intelligence puts generative AI annualized energy at around 2.3 percent of the total grid power consumption by datacenters in the first quarter of 2024," the Uptime Institute predicted in conversation with The Register.
For many years, data center operators largely regarded power as an internal matter: how to run cables to where they need it, how to improve power usage effectiveness (PUE), and how to better monitor power management. But the attention is now being directed externally. Modern power problems are all about how to obtain more power for the data center, how to add renewable resources, and how to work better with utilities.