As many in the industry are aware, a “power crunch” is occurring in several key regions of the US, driven by the rapid expansion of data centers and AI.

As grid operators and utilities work through the regulatory steps for transmission and generation expansions, more data center sites are looking towards microgrids, often powered by gas turbines, as an alternative solution to generating electricity with zero downtime and a higher capacity. 

DCD spoke to Aad den Elzen, vice president, Power Generation & Strategic Growth, at Solar Turbines, to discuss the challenges of the US “power crunch” and how a microgrid powered by gas turbines can provide a reliable alternative when a grid connection may be years away. Solar Turbines, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, recently installed several units to bridge the power gap at data centers in the US and Europe.

Reliability and redundancy drive uptime

Gas turbines represent a solution for these crunch areas – both in the present and the areas that will follow. Den Elzen explains, “Data center power generation is mission critical, and we have gas turbine solutions that provide reliable power for data centers.” He adds, “Data centers can only achieve their uptime requirements with equipment redundancy. Solar and Caterpillar have prime movers and back-up generators to support different redundancy configurations, offering a suite of power solutions.”

Natural gas today, flexibility for the long term

Many data centers looking to grow have found that natural gas is an energy source readily available on the necessary scale. Den Elzen reminds us, “Gas is a reliable and convenient option for a continuous solution to deliver what data centers need today.”

Data centers are also looking at alternative fuels both to meet their uptime requirements and lower the carbon intensity of their operations.

Den Elzen explains the various options for running Solar Turbines’ generators, highlighting their capacity to operate on different fuels.

“The same machine can run on both natural gas and diesel fuel, seamlessly switching between the two. Customers can use a wide range of current and future fuels in the turbines with some additional configuration. This flexibility is an important factor in selecting the technology for site power generation and providing redundancy for fuel supply.”

Additionally, hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the energy transition, and the company is making investments to support customers’ hydrogen needs, both now and in the future.

Microgrid operation and maintenance

Data centers looking to add bridge power on their campuses will also need to consider how maintenance will affect their operations. Gas turbine generators at the data center scale require inspections and, from time to time, major overhauls, where the gas turbine is exchanged.

Den Elzen explains the benefits of gas turbine operation and maintenance, “Our turbines can run for 8,000 hours uninterrupted between inspection cycles, thus reducing the manpower compared to other technologies.

“Additionally, engine exchange and overhaul is a reliable, straightforward process. When it is time for an overhaul, Solar provides a replacement turbine onsite, and the entire generator set can be up and running within a few days, using redundancies to cover downtime.”

Proven and complementary solutions

It is important to note, a gas turbine does not act as sole source of facility power. By making it the center of a microgrid, paired with the right control systems, it can be used to complement a range of other solutions, either through augmentation or integration.

As den Elzen comments, “It's common practice to have gas turbines work together with other power-generating assets, diesel gensets, gas gensets and the grid – even solar power can be integrated seamlessly into a microgrid.”

This can present the opportunity to work alongside the local grid provider to feed excess power back into the general electricity supply, making the data center part of the solution instead of the problem. 

Solar has a long history of supporting critical infrastructure industries. Den Elzen points to the company’s history in various industries to illustrate why the proof-of-concept is already there.

“We have decades of experience serving mission-critical industries,” den Elzen states. “For example, we have units in oil and gas operations on offshore platforms where reliability and minimum downtime for maintenance are supercritical. Additionally, we provide cogeneration and back-up power for universities, hospitals, utilities and critical industries. Solar gas turbines are a viable, reliable and economical solution for data center power needs.”

To find out more about Solar Turbine’s data center power solutions, please visit solarturbines.com/datacenters.