Installing onsite natural gas turbines, solar panels or batteries means data centers can achieve a speedier connection to the grid because they will represent less of a demand stress when electricity is tight, according to a study Princeton University’s Zero Lab carried out in conjunction with energy software firms Camus Energy and Encoord.
In some cases, the wait time can be cut by as much as five years – a significant difference in an industry where grid hookups can stretch up to seven years.
“If you can connect your data center years earlier, that’s a lot of revenue and a lot of compute time,” said Jesse Jenkins, the Princeton associate professor who leads the ZERO Lab.
Flexible data centers also are cheaper because they require less new infrastructure, he added.
“It doesn’t make sense to build a whole new transmission line that sits there 365 days a year when you only need it for a few hours a year,” Jenkins said.
