Microsoft has demonstrated a working fuel-powered data center
For several years, Microsoft has introduced several original data center concepts. Here and open-source data centers, and underwater data centers, plus the data center, which are supplied with electricity through fuel cells. Regarding the latter, the company has built a ready data center, which actually receives energy from fuel cells that generate electricity using natural gas.
These fuel cells are located in a special room, in their own racks. The data center itself is located in one of the buildings near the Microsoft office in Seattle, USA.
The team is headed by Microsoft engineer Sean James, he believes that in the future data centers will be able to work without connecting an external power channel. Of course, such a system is needed far from everywhere, but in remote regions, where there are no reliable energy highways, such a project can be very helpful.
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The advantage of this idea can also be called the minimum energy loss when transferring it from a remote power plant. By the way, the server and other equipment is located in the immediate vicinity of racks with fuel cells. According to representatives of Microsoft, this energy infrastructure allows companies to reduce their impact on the environment and build money. So far, the cost of fuel cells is quite high. On the other hand, it is no longer as high as a few years ago, and is gradually decreasing, as more and more companies are engaged in the production of similar batteries.
The cheaper the items are, the more the company can save. The calculations of the corporation show that, under the best of circumstances, the amount of savings can be several hundred million dollars over a period of several years.
Large telecom companies spend huge amounts of money on energy. In order to reduce their costs associated with the operation of their mega-data centers, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and other companies are ready to use the most original infrastructure solutions that allow you to save.
Large data centers occupy large areas, and the entire infrastructure may consist of several buildings, plus many smaller objects scattered throughout the DC. In order to provide the data center with energy, we build our own substations, dedicated power lines for connecting to the central network. From the substations, electricity goes to transformers and electrical distribution devices that can convert the incoming electric current, reducing its voltage, and then the “ready-to-use” electricity goes to various departments of the DC.
In most DCs there are also backup batteries, which allow the object to hold out in the event of a power outage or “jump”. In addition to bespereboynikov, installed and diesel generators, which are included toga, when things with the supply of energy really bad.
It is clear that all these precautions and equipment are needed. But the concept of Microsoft, according to its authors, allows you to remove most of all these systems. That is, no generators, batteries, transformers, and hundreds of kilometers of power cables are needed.
The corporation has not created its own fuel centers all of a sudden - work on this project, as mentioned above, has been going on for a long time. A few years ago, an experimental DC was built in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. The building of the data center is located next to the water treatment plant. What for? And in order to use methane released at the station, without the need to transport this gas from somewhere. Actually, we are talking more about biogas - a mixture of several gases released during biochemical processes in organic matter, where methane prevails.
Previously, fuel cells were only an auxiliary part of the energy infrastructure. If the electricity was turned off, the elements entered into the work.
But now all this can work as a primary source of energy. So far, the DC, which is supplied with biogas electricity, is not very large, but after conducting a series of experiments, the company can build a larger facility. It is possible that the corporation will soon build its own data center, where fuel cells will serve (so far) as an alternative to electricity from the main source. But there will be no generators or batteries here.
The advantages of the data center on methane, compared with traditional DC:
- reducing the likelihood of equipment failure due to power outages. Since in this case the data center itself is the energy company, no load / failure of the region’s general power system will lead to the failure of autonomous equipment;
- reduction of infrastructure costs. This has already been mentioned above - since there are no bespereboynik, transformers and other power equipment, the cost of creating the energy infrastructure of the data center is significantly reduced;
- increase energy efficiency of the equipment. This is not only about PUE. The overall energy efficiency of the system, according to the authors of the project, doubles;
- A data center can be built almost anywhere where there is methane, away from the extensive energy infrastructure of the city / region. In addition to methane, you can use "solar" energy, wind energy and other alternative energy sources.
It should be noted that not only Microsoft works with fuel cells on methane. Earlier, similar projects were announced by eBay, Apple and some others. The positive side here is the fact that there is no special waste. Biogas provides electricity, heat and water. Electricity and water can be used in DC cooling / heating systems.
“The main difference of our project from the traditional power supply scheme is the production of energy inside the data center, instead of connecting the data center to the energy infrastructure of a region. Quite a large amount of energy is now lost in the energy infrastructure of data centers, which entails financial losses, an increase in operating and capital costs. We show how the introduction of a small power source to the network infrastructure element of the data center reduces the complexity of the project of energy distribution between the elements of the entire system, ”the project team members say.
These fuel cells are located in a special room, in their own racks. The data center itself is located in one of the buildings near the Microsoft office in Seattle, USA.
The team is headed by Microsoft engineer Sean James, he believes that in the future data centers will be able to work without connecting an external power channel. Of course, such a system is needed far from everywhere, but in remote regions, where there are no reliable energy highways, such a project can be very helpful.
')
The advantage of this idea can also be called the minimum energy loss when transferring it from a remote power plant. By the way, the server and other equipment is located in the immediate vicinity of racks with fuel cells. According to representatives of Microsoft, this energy infrastructure allows companies to reduce their impact on the environment and build money. So far, the cost of fuel cells is quite high. On the other hand, it is no longer as high as a few years ago, and is gradually decreasing, as more and more companies are engaged in the production of similar batteries.
The cheaper the items are, the more the company can save. The calculations of the corporation show that, under the best of circumstances, the amount of savings can be several hundred million dollars over a period of several years.
Large telecom companies spend huge amounts of money on energy. In order to reduce their costs associated with the operation of their mega-data centers, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and other companies are ready to use the most original infrastructure solutions that allow you to save.
Large data centers occupy large areas, and the entire infrastructure may consist of several buildings, plus many smaller objects scattered throughout the DC. In order to provide the data center with energy, we build our own substations, dedicated power lines for connecting to the central network. From the substations, electricity goes to transformers and electrical distribution devices that can convert the incoming electric current, reducing its voltage, and then the “ready-to-use” electricity goes to various departments of the DC.
In most DCs there are also backup batteries, which allow the object to hold out in the event of a power outage or “jump”. In addition to bespereboynikov, installed and diesel generators, which are included toga, when things with the supply of energy really bad.
It is clear that all these precautions and equipment are needed. But the concept of Microsoft, according to its authors, allows you to remove most of all these systems. That is, no generators, batteries, transformers, and hundreds of kilometers of power cables are needed.
The corporation has not created its own fuel centers all of a sudden - work on this project, as mentioned above, has been going on for a long time. A few years ago, an experimental DC was built in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. The building of the data center is located next to the water treatment plant. What for? And in order to use methane released at the station, without the need to transport this gas from somewhere. Actually, we are talking more about biogas - a mixture of several gases released during biochemical processes in organic matter, where methane prevails.
Previously, fuel cells were only an auxiliary part of the energy infrastructure. If the electricity was turned off, the elements entered into the work.
But now all this can work as a primary source of energy. So far, the DC, which is supplied with biogas electricity, is not very large, but after conducting a series of experiments, the company can build a larger facility. It is possible that the corporation will soon build its own data center, where fuel cells will serve (so far) as an alternative to electricity from the main source. But there will be no generators or batteries here.
The advantages of the data center on methane, compared with traditional DC:
- reducing the likelihood of equipment failure due to power outages. Since in this case the data center itself is the energy company, no load / failure of the region’s general power system will lead to the failure of autonomous equipment;
- reduction of infrastructure costs. This has already been mentioned above - since there are no bespereboynik, transformers and other power equipment, the cost of creating the energy infrastructure of the data center is significantly reduced;
- increase energy efficiency of the equipment. This is not only about PUE. The overall energy efficiency of the system, according to the authors of the project, doubles;
- A data center can be built almost anywhere where there is methane, away from the extensive energy infrastructure of the city / region. In addition to methane, you can use "solar" energy, wind energy and other alternative energy sources.
It should be noted that not only Microsoft works with fuel cells on methane. Earlier, similar projects were announced by eBay, Apple and some others. The positive side here is the fact that there is no special waste. Biogas provides electricity, heat and water. Electricity and water can be used in DC cooling / heating systems.
“The main difference of our project from the traditional power supply scheme is the production of energy inside the data center, instead of connecting the data center to the energy infrastructure of a region. Quite a large amount of energy is now lost in the energy infrastructure of data centers, which entails financial losses, an increase in operating and capital costs. We show how the introduction of a small power source to the network infrastructure element of the data center reduces the complexity of the project of energy distribution between the elements of the entire system, ”the project team members say.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/340068/
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