1. Data Center Geographical Load Balancing: An Optimization
Miles Evans, Brock Taute, Ted Bloch-Rubin
Introduction
Background:
• Data Center Energy Consumption projected to be 140 billion kWh in 2020
• Power Consumption is a function of internet processing, wirelessly transmitted
Our Proposal: Shift internet load based on renewables availability instead of
transmitting power
Multiple data centers, owned by one operator could form their own power
distribution network by sharing processing loads.
Potential Benefits:
• Allow higher renewables penetration
• Reduce transmission congestion
• Reduce data center electricity costs
Literature Review:
• Academic research in data center operational optimization for both low cost and
integrationof large-scale renewables
• Industry research in electricity pricing for existing data centers in five
geographical regions
• In-depth study and adaptation of Stanford graduate student optimization
formulation
Approach:
• Obtain solar insolation and wind speed forecast data for each data center
location
• Adapt load profile for each data center based on existing models and power
consumptionper square foot factor
• Implement optimization of data center operation for minimal power
consumptionand cost
• Report cost savings, shifted electricity usage, and self-consumption of
renewables
Results
Conclusion
Data center loads can be optimized geographically to reduce electricity costs and
capitalize on complementary renewable resources and load profiles
Further Work:
Incorporate time-varying loads along with the geographically-varying model
Model
0.23
0.77
Before Optimization
0.26
0.74
After Optimization
Renewables Used By Data Centers
Renewables Not Used By Data Centers
0.00E+00
5.00E+04
1.00E+05
1.50E+05
2.00E+05
2.50E+05
3.00E+05
Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4
USD
Quarterly Electricity Costs
Orginal Cost Optimized Cost
Renewables Utilization
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Santa Clara, CA Las Vegas, NV Ft. Collins, CO Cranbury, NJ Atlanta, GA
Electricity Consumption (GWh)
Comparison of Annual Grid Electricity
Consumption
Original Grid Load Optimized Grid Load
Place Max Power Use (kW) Solar Capacity (kW) Wind Capacity(kW)
CA 439 500 2500
NV 492 1000 0
CO 127 750 5000
NJ 469 250 0
GA 933 0 0
Specifications on the data centers used in this model
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260
Hourly Load and Generation for CA Data Center
Optimized Load (kW) Original Load (kW) Renewable Generation (kW)
