A new report, conducted by Navigant Research and commissioned by Schneider Electric, analyzes the role that data centers will play in the growth of commercial and industrial microgrids worldwide.
According to the white paper “Data Centers and Advanced Microgrids,” data centers are responsible for protecting critical functions, but they typically rely on inefficient asset redundancy, which has a significant environmental impact. Advanced microgrids, which utilize the latest IT innovations to create networks, offer a solution to this problem and are more efficient in terms of uptime. In 2018, data center service providers are expected to add nearly 7,000 MW of capacity, the fastest expansion on record.
The most innovative providers are turning to new technologies through new business models that can simultaneously mitigate risks and improve performance thanks to, for example, advanced microgrids.
According to the report, advanced microgrids for data centers can generate new revenue streams, turning energy into a profit rather than a cost. Furthermore, they can enhance system resilience and sustainability by utilizing cleaner onsite assets, through a smarter and cleaner energy infrastructure, and by leveraging cloud applications to create new forms of distributed resilience.
According to recent data from IDC, the trend points to a gradual shift away from owned data centers and toward greater reliance on data center service providers. Similarly, within the microgrid market in general, there has been a move from direct asset ownership to outsourcing, as exemplified by Schneider Electric's microgrids as a service-based business model.
Can Download it for free here An executive summary of the report is available on the Navigant Research website.