Renewables and microgrid tech key to drive India's eco-efficient data center growth

With the boom in smart phones and e-commerce – the consumerisation of data and the need for IT infrastructure is proliferating the demand in the sector. The need of the hour are data centers which optimise power usage, land utilisation and cooling management systems thereby offering a cost advantage. The prime controllable cost is energy. 

Since India is on a growth trajectory, it is important that the growth is aligned with the country’s larger vision of clean energy and efficiency and smart cities with reliable power. 

Reliable and uninterrupted supply of power is a key prerequisite for the efficient functioning of data centers. On an average a data center uses thirty times more energy per square foot than office buildings. The other key concern is space - need for more computational power is often resolved by adding servers. Inevitably, though, rack space is maxed out and data center managers must find new ways to expand capacity and optimise value from every square foot. Many data center operators are considering renewable energy, which offers the potential for lower-cost energy and provides an alternative to the grid in areas where reliability is an issue. 

“India has a target of 175GW of renewable energy by 2022, which makes it one of the most attractive markets in the world to leverage this trend for the growth of data centers. Around 50 percent of India’s renewable energy passes through ABB equipment. ABB expertise in this sector entails a range of solutions which seamlessly offer grid connection, integration of renewables to power distribution and protection along with state of the art data infrastructure management systems, taking the efficiency of Indian data centers to the next level,” said Giandomenico Testi, CTO, ABB India Limited, during a workshop on “The emerging technology and market trends for data centers” - jointly organised the Mumbai-based the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) and ABB India.

However, the volatility of renewable energy might pose problems sometimes. This is where microgrids technology can provide an approach that balances multiple resources such as the grid, diesel generation, and renewables. This is being done globally mainly in remote communities or industrial facilities where grid-delivered power is particularly expensive or unreliable. Microgrid technology offers the option of leveraging localised sources of energy with distributed generation and consumption. The Indian government is looking at renewable energy powered micro and mini-grids to enhance access to electricity in many energy dark regions. As this technology evolves to further simplify microgrid management, data centers will increasingly embrace the concept.

“Industry-academia research and collaboration is the need of the hour for jointly addressing challenges in any growing industry. Our collaboration with ABB for this workshop is a key step to bridge the gap between industry and academia. Such opportunities also enable our students to know more about the best practices in the data center industry and interact with the experts,” said Dr O G Kakde, director, VJTI. 

Manufacturers will continue to respond to customer demand for future technology improvements, depending on larger stakeholder universe, leading to even greater enhancements to energy efficiency and power quality. Technology advancement driven efficiency, including more advanced UPS systems and medium voltage topology, will show the way for competitive advantages. Adoption and exploration of new approaches to energy management by operators will drive continued operational innovation and improvements.