How power-positive data centres can unlock AI’s potential while transforming communities

The stats are clear. The electric grid is over 100 years old and already feeling the strain – reshored manufacturing, transport electrification and heat pumps are a few capabilities demanding more from the grid. Against this backdrop, the most powerful and promising technology in a generation – artificial intelligence (AI) – has emerged, demanding more power still.

Current figures estimate that electric demand for the data centres supporting AI is about 4% of US electric consumption, which is expected to double by the end of the decade. The scenario is similar the world over, which suggests to some that we’re heading to a cliff edge. However, that may not be the case.

Rather than viewing data centres and AI as a threat or strain on infrastructure, they could present a significant opportunity for large-scale upgrades and revitalization.

So, how do we achieve this alternative? Through a three-part strategy, we can unlock AI’s immense potential while strengthening infrastructure and supporting our communities. It’s a future of hyper-efficient data centres, driving efficiency “beyond the fence” and adding new generating capacity. And that future is within reach as we’ve barely begun to tap into the potential to make data centres more energy efficient. Here’s how we change that.

Cooling represents at least 40% of data centre energy consumption. That number is expected to increase as the density of compute on chips (and the resulting heat generated by chips) increases. It turns out, however, that the cooling needs of chips are very different from those of people.

To date, repurposed comfort cooling systems have typically been deployed in data centres but purpose-built cooling systems are the way forward. Johnson Controls’ YVAM – a centrifugal chiller that cools data centres – is proof.

YVAM is designed specifically for data centres and achieves the same cooling outcome with 78% less energy than a conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

That’s a huge savings for the owners, operators and the grid.

The second significant opportunity for efficiency is to make data centre operations dynamic. Critical applications require a 24-hour run time and data centres are designed and built to run flawlessly, even in extreme hot weather conditions. But just because reliable operation is possible in the most challenging circumstances, does not mean that a data centre must run that hard on a normal day.

The latest generation of smart building software, like Johnson Controls OpenBlue, can optimize the operation of a chilled water system serving a data centre every minute of every day and provide only the cooling needed. Even on those worst “design days,” thanks to advanced optimization, data centres can see a reduction in annual energy use associated with cooling of 5 to 15%.

The incremental improvement here is important and is additive to the improvements achieved with purpose-built cooling systems.

Finally, close partnership between chip makers, data centre owners and HVAC experts is important.

Tech companies are working very hard to make chips increasingly resilient to heat. The progress they’ve achieved is impressive – enabling chips to do more reliably, even when cooled by water that is 42% warmer. That cuts a lot of required energy.

It also enables a switch to magnetic bearing compressor technology, which is still more efficient as it drives out the friction of oil-bearing systems. This enables refrigerants with more than 90% less impact on the climate, a footprint that can be over 40% smaller, and superiorly quiet operations.

These leaps in efficiency and resilience are being supercharged through a symbiotic ecosystem of solutions providers, data centre operators and chip manufacturers. Initial collaborative approaches are proving the progress we can make in protecting the grid and the climate even as AI takes off.

With hyper-efficient data centres, that cliff edge appears further by the minute. And there is still more we can do.

Why stop at upgrading operations and cutting energy at the data centre property line? Let’s move towards a “power positive” vision for data centres by incentivizing data centre developers to create room on the grid for their additional electricity needs by investing in and dialing down energy needs in the surrounding community. The opportunities are vast.

Buildings generally represent some 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Upgrading the local school with more energy efficient equipment, for instance, could cut energy needs there by 50% or more while saving taxpayers millions in operating costs. While that new HVAC is being installed, lead paint and asbestos can be removed as well, making this a win for our kids as well as the planet.

At the local hospital, sensors can be added that not only slash electricity needs but also detect and destroy the viruses and bacteria that otherwise can lead to hospital acquired infections – another win.

Government offices, sewage treatment facilities and universities can all be upgraded, creating room for the new data centre in the neighbourhood. The result is that the community is positioned within the cutting-edge digital economy while supported by the best in infrastructure and assets.

The key incentive for data centres is that those companies who bring this “power positive” approach become front-in-line to connect to the grid with its renewed capacity as the community will have become state-of-the-art lean in energy and cost.

There is a final safeguard we can put in place: adding energy-generating resources that can meet or match the data centre’s remaining electricity requirements. Here the options are many and the pace of technology development and progress is fast.

Solar, wind, geothermal and batteries are well known; fuel cells are attractive and can be part of a system advancing carbon capture capabilities. Small modular nuclear reactors are advancing as well. The key is to expedite permitting so that these vital resources can be incorporated into our grid in good time and cost-effectively.

A new enabling infrastructure is possible. We can realize the promise of this incredible technology to heal our environment, stimulate our economy, and ensure our security while we build the framework that will make our communities thrive.