The power generation industry is undergoing a dramatic change as renewable sources, distributed generation, decarbonization and demand increases are transforming traditional sources of energy. The reduced inertia present in the grid, due to the decommissioning of large power plants and the intermittency of renewables, poses significant challenges to its stability. As a result, frequency variations caused by momentary imbalances are higher and more recurring. Traditional frequency regulation may not be able to provide fast enough response to keep the frequency within specified limits; therefore, faster reacting frequency containment reserves are needed to provide a quick response to sudden frequency variations and to increase or reduce the electricity demand within a few seconds.
Data centers and other types of critical infrastructure have a key role to play in this shifting energy landscape and are the ideal candidate to implement grid balancing services. This is due to the presence of assets such as battery energy storages, which could be maximized to generate new revenue streams as well as cost saving opportunities, and ultimately alleviate grid infrastructure constraints.
A grid interactive UPS with a properly sized energy storage system can easily provide a fast-enough response to meet the needs for frequency containment, support a variety of income generating services and allow cost savings opportunities through demand management.
