Optimizing Microgrid Composition for Sustainable Data Centers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel optimization framework that integrates detailed renewable energy models with a co-simulator to optimize microgrid design for sustainable data centers, balancing emissions and reliability.

Contribution

It presents a new optimization framework combining Vessim and NREL's SAM models to assess microgrid component sizing and composition for sustainability and power reliability.

Findings

Enhanced simulation of renewable energy and storage interactions.

Guidelines for microgrid component sizing for sustainability.

Improved decision-making tools for data center energy planning.

Abstract

As computing energy demand continues to grow and electrical grid infrastructure struggles to keep pace, an increasing number of data centers are being planned with colocated microgrids that integrate on-site renewable generation and energy storage. However, while existing research has examined the tradeoffs between operational and embodied carbon emissions in the context of renewable energy certificates, there is a lack of tools to assess how the sizing and composition of microgrid components affects long-term sustainability and power reliability. In this paper, we present a novel optimization framework that extends the computing and energy system co-simulator Vessim with detailed renewable energy generation models from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) System Advisor Model (SAM). Our framework simulates the interaction between computing workloads, on-site renewable production, and energy storage, capturing both operational and embodied emissions. We use a multi-horizon black-box optimization to explore efficient microgrid compositions and enable operators to make more informed decisions when planning energy systems for data centers.