How AI growth is driving a revolution in powering data centres
AVK-SEG is a Business Reporter client
Delivering resilient, sustainable energy and power infrastructure to support the rising energy demands of AI-driven data centres.
The rise of AI over the past few years has been a huge boon for businesses everywhere. The flipside, however, is that it places equally significant demands on data centre power management – and data centres are struggling to keep up.
According to the CBRE North America Data Center Trends Report H12024: 'Increased demand for high-power computing creates a significant price disparity between new data centres and legacy facilities. Many existing data centres lack the infrastructure to handle these demanding workloads, further limiting their appeal.'
With no sign of a let-up in the phenomenal pace of AI infrastructure investment, it is vital for data centre operators to stay competitive by implementing intelligent and sustainable upgrades, such as enhancing power density capabilities, adopting renewable energy solutions and investing in resilient infrastructure for AI and HPC workloads. Future-proofing prime power, efficient backup load-stepping and renewable fuels are key components of this.
According to a recent report from IDC, AI data centre capacity is projected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.5 per cent by 2027. AI data centre energy consumption is forecast to grow at 44.7 per cent, reaching 146.2 Terawatt hours (TWh) by 2027. AI workloads will consume a growing proportion of total data centre electricity use.
Given this growth in AI-driven demand, it's not surprising that, in a recent report, CBRE observed a growing price disparity between data centres built or upgraded with the high-density power demands of AI in mind and existing facilities that still lack adequate infrastructure for AI.
Densities are rising fast and will continue, reaching as high as 100 kW per rack, possibly higher. As an industry, we need to advise our customers on configuring their power infrastructure to position themselves for AI resilience and sustainability. This is not just a matter of environmental responsibility. It is also a strategic necessity for the long-term viability of the ever-evolving AI industry.
Putting prime power in place
AI is putting such significant demand on the grid that it's struggling to manage, especially in established connectivity hubs such as Dublin, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and London. Waiting times for power capacity are sometimes several years long, creating major headaches for operators.
This is where smart microgrids step in, bridging the gap between data centre operators and grid requirements. AVK, the largest and fastest-growing supplier of power solutions for data centres and leading organisations in the UK and Europe, is helping build resilience, sustainability, and scalability across critical infrastructure to support our digital future, powered by artificial intelligence – and its recent collaboration with major data centre operators illustrates how an effective and tailored microgrid can transform a facility's operational outlook. This allowed the client to meet its immediate energy demands while aligning with sustainability goals, making the data centre a net energy contributor to the local community with the potential to support national grid infrastructure.
Backup: the load-stepping challenge
Both existing and new facilities must also pay close attention to their backup solutions, which may not be able to keep up with even small increases in power density. As customers decentralise their uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to increase power densities towards the 50/100 kW level, they need smooth load-stepping, which means the ability to gradually increase the electrical load on a backup power system such as a generator. Smooth load-stepping allows backup power systems to handle growing demand without overloading or causing instability.
Understanding your power needs
Sustainable, high-density infrastructure can be assembled piece by piece as long as organisations apply principles such as energy efficiency, scalability and resilience at every step and build for the future.
Microgrid design, load management and renewable fuels are critical elements to consider as power levels increase to support AI. The market is also evolving rapidly: new solutions are being developed that increasingly rely on AI to optimise their effectiveness, making AI part of the solution as well as the challenge.
Perhaps the most essential principle for tackling these issues is understanding power requirements intimately, from prime power and load-stepping to backup fuel choice.
The journey towards AI readiness is about more than keeping up with technological advancements, it's about building innovative solutions that are scalable, sustainable and capable of supporting the industry in the long term.
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