• • • DATA CENTRES • • •
Transport Fuel Obligations (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) Order 2024 obliges aviation fuel suppliers to increase the proportion of sustainable aviation fuel in their jet fuel. Since they often link the pricing structure for this sustainable fuel with HVO, this has the knock-on effect of raising the cost of HVO for data centres, making it economically unfeasible to transition from diesel to HVO to power generators. In their recent report, Energy UK flag other
issues, “In GB, most data centres currently in development are connected to the electricity grid with inefficient diesel back-up generators to use if their power supply fails. To meet environmental rules, they must limit operating hours to fewer than 50 per year and are prohibited from entering into flexible markets, so can’t use this back-up capacity to contribute to efficient system operation... An alternative to this approach would be to use battery storage...” In this context, where resilience is business-
critical, but must be balanced alongside sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency, the role of battery storage in a data centre’s energy infrastructure merits closer consideration.
Meeting competing demands with modern battery storage
Providing resilient, uninterruptible, power In an increasingly electrified world, where our energy mix is becoming more complex and distributed, the energy transition exacerbates issues of energy security as the shift to smaller- scale generation across distribution networks puts greater stress on localised distribution infrastructure. The National Grid is tied to volatile international gas markets for baseload generation, and this leaves organisations reliant on traditional UPS overexposed to uncertain energy pricing.
Although a traditional UPS, reliant on lead-acid
better technology, offers protection to individual pieces of equipment in the event of power disruption, it will largely sit idle but still loses significant capacity, switching constantly between AC and DC. For a typical 1MW system, this can equate to around £200,000 of wasted energy and unnecessary emissions, annually. By contrast, a modern Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) with UPS utilising lithium-ion technology has significantly-reduced losses, at less than 1 per cent, while providing ultra-fast switching to connect the battery to site supply in less than 10ms to protect site infrastructure.
Maximising on-site renewables
for improved sustainability Investment in on-site renewables is a common means for data centres to reduce reliance on grid supply, and a BESS can help maximise the capability of these assets. Renewable energy generation is determined by weather conditions and may not coincide with the optimal time for usage. Without a means to store this energy, if it is not used when generated, this is wasted energy. A BESS stores energy generated on-site and can switch between this clean energy and grid supply depending on which option is most cost-effective, and most sustainable, at any given time.
Peak shaving Energy UK raise the issue of increased energy usage and the impact this has on peak electricity demand, noting that, “
...it is important for all end users, including data centres, to be encouraged and incentivised to respond to fluctuating wholesale prices, system costs and wider market incentives to reduce their impact on the system and reduce their energy bills... As the scope for
large-scale demand shifting is often quite limited, on-site generation or investing in additional energy storage capacity... are likely to be the most realistic options to enable data centres to engage in DSR and reduce electricity consumption at peak times...” The storage capability of a BESS allows for the
purchase of grid power when prices, and emissions, are at their lowest, generally overnight, for use at peak times to improve energy efficiency and minimise unnecessary emissions. Peak shaving can enable a site to rapidly decrease energy demand temporarily, to help stay within agreed capacity limits and help minimise the duration of high energy consumption at peak times. Where data centres may have on-site renewable assets, these help reduce demand on the grid, but are not capable of providing guaranteed peak shaving, given the inflexibility of the energy generated. A BESS, working with these assets, provides the flexibility needed for dynamic peak shaving.
Returning on investment –
modern BESS and UPS in action For one Powerstar customer, the strategic imperative to reduce their carbon footprint required a completely robust UPS. The proposed solution was to install BESS with UPS. This provides the instantaneous load support of an uninterruptible power supply but with much lower losses and enhanced capabilities: the capacity to store renewable energy generated by their on-site assets, as well as the capability to engage with Grid Services and Demand Side Response to generate additional revenue. On one day alone, the grid supply failed twice. Each time, the BESS supported the full load, first for 15 seconds and then for 23 seconds, avoiding any power disruption. For this customer, improved energy efficiency through the newly-installed BESS and UPS is saving approximately £225,000 in energy costs, cutting emissions by 190 tonnes of C02e. They are also generating an additional £100,000 in revenue through Grid Services.
De-risking operations in the
energy transition There are major risks in ignoring or deferring the issue of energy sustainability, all of which have financial implications. With regulatory requirements and legally-binding Net Zero deadlines, non-compliance can lead to reputational damage, loss of shareholder confidence and higher than necessary energy costs. As electrification of the UK’s energy supply continues apace to meet the country’s clean energy goals, the current problem of grid constraints is unlikely to be solved in the immediate future. Companies investing in their own energy
infrastructure, and there is a strong case for battery storage as a part of the solution, are less exposed to the risks associated with the exponential growth of the data centre sector, and the energy demands this places on the UK’s energy infrastructure as a whole.
www.powerstar.com
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • SEPTEMBER 2025 45
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