Data Center Frontier
Summary
Data center growth is unfolding at an unprecedented rate, and it’s now anticipated that 16-23% of U.S. electricity could be consumed by data centers alone by 2033 according to a recent report by Accenture. As utilities and data centers grapple with how to meet this demand in energy with an antiquated power grid and rising electricity and natural gas costs, new solutions from distributed energy resources (DERs) and microgrids are emerging. One potential component of these solutions is small modular reactors (SMRs). SMRs, which have accelerated deployment anticipated in the 2030s, can pair with other renewable energy sources, are efficient and scalable, and can play a significant role in achieving emissions reduction goals.
Research from Xendee in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), has shown that a multi-year approach can address energy needs in two phases, for the short term and long term. To start, renewables coupled with Combined Heat and Power (CHP), and energy storage can reduce initial energy costs and bring flexibility. In the long term once commercially available, SMRs can deliver baseload power and address the substantial load growth of the data center.
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