Data centers are facing unprecedented energy demands as the digital landscape evolves with the rise of AI, cryptocurrency mining, and other applications that require heavy computing. By 2026, global data center electricity usage is projected to double, potentially reaching more than 1,000TWh (for context, 1 TWh could power 100 million homes for an hour). This surge in power consumption calls for innovative solutions to improve efficiency and sustainability. Cogeneration is a standout solution, with a process that can significantly reduce the cost per kilowatt hour in data centers.
What is Cogeneration?
Cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power (CHP), is an efficient approach to on-site power generation. It’s great for cost reduction, and in a data center context, it uses the waste heat produced by power generators to provide cooling through the cogeneration system.
Benefits of Cogeneration for Data Centers
- Improved Energy Efficiency: Cogeneration systems can achieve higher energy efficiency than traditional grid-powered data centers. How? Since cogeneration uses “waste heat recovery,” every watt of electrical power that comes through the data center must be thermally removed. That heat can be reused for cooling. The Department of Energy states that “recovering waste heat losses generates cost savings, reduces environmental impact, and improves workflow and productivity.”
- Lower Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE): PUE is a crucial metric for data center efficiency. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the most efficient data centers achieve PUE values of 1.2 or less. Cogeneration can help lower PUE by increasing overall energy efficiency and reducing energy costs which directly impacts the PUE ratio.
Cogeneration in the Context of AI and Crypto Mining
As AI and cryptocurrency mining continue to drive up data center power consumption, cogeneration becomes increasingly relevant:
- AI's Growing Energy Appetite: AI tools like ChatGPT can require up to 10 times the electricity of traditional internet searches. By 2030, AI is expected to contribute significantly to a 160% increase in data center power demand, as stated by Goldman Sachs Research.
- Cryptocurrency Mining: While there aren’t exact numbers, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that cryptocurrency mining accounts for anywhere between 0.6% and 2.3% of total U.S. electricity consumption. Cogeneration could help offset this energy-intensive process since their data centers generate excessive heat and increase greenhouse gas emissions due to all the electricity usage.
- Balancing Compute Power and Sustainability: Compute power and cooling rank high on energy-intensive processes, and graphics processing units (GPUs) are used in technologies like AI, making them widely used in data center environments for their computing horsepower (think: gaming). As data centers upgrade to GPUs for AI workloads, cogeneration can help mitigate the environmental impact by improving overall energy efficiency.
Implementing Cogeneration in Data Centers
Integrating cogeneration systems can lead to substantial savings on energy bills, making data centers more resilient. To implement cogeneration effectively, data center operators should consider the following:
- Energy Service Agreements: When you partner with a cogeneration provider like Catalyst Power, we will own and operate the system for you on your property. Learn how you can add cogeneration without paying for equipment.
- Sizing and Integration: Properly size the cogeneration system to match the data center's electrical and thermal loads.
- Monitoring and Optimization: Continuously monitor system performance and optimize operations to maintain high efficiency.
Moving Forward
As data centers grapple with the energy demands of AI, cryptocurrency mining, and other compute-intensive applications, cogeneration offers a promising solution for improving efficiency and cost reduction. By harnessing waste heat for cooling, data centers can reduce their primary energy use and lower their PUE.
If you’re a data center owner interested in maximizing your efficiency with cogeneration, the potential benefits make it a technology worth exploring. Let Catalyst Power help you balance the growing demand for computing power with a more efficient system.
