Microgrids: How Data Center Energy Efficiencies Help Universities

How AI Is Increasing Energy Demands in Higher Ed

AI is changing the game for power demands, with high-intensity data processes and additional cooling needs putting pressure on hardworking campus computing clusters.

“AI in general is energy-intensive, for training and inferencing and all of that. And there is demand on the education side: There are a lot of tools that help professors help students. There is more need for AI on the education side, and these are energy-intensive operations,” says Kumaraguru Prabakar, principal engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Microgrids offer a potential way forward.

What Are Microgrids, and How Do They Work on Campus?

A microgrid is a small, self-sustaining electrical system that can operate independently of the main electrical grid.

“Its main feature is that it can operate in parallel with the grid. When the grid is out, whether it’s an emergency or a planned outage, the microgrid can keep the lights on locally, and when the grid comes back, it re-engages with the grid in a seamless fashion,” says Mahmoud Kabalan, associate professor and founding director of the Center for Microgrid Research at the University of St. Thomas.

Microgrids also support energy generation. For universities, “if they have their own solar, if they have their own wind, they’re making energy,” says Steve Gillum, solutions manager for power and cooling at CDW. In this way, “the microgrid really is going to allow campuses to be more independent of the utilities, and to support sustainability as well.”

Many in higher education are already rowing in this direction.

“Most of the U.S. universities have buildings with intense cooling and heating requirements, and they have backup generation, typically for emergency operations,” Prabakar says. “Some have small microgrids for medical facilities or supercomputers. They may not call it a microgrid; It’s just a backup source.”

Reducing Costs and Boosting Sustainability With Microgrids

In looking to meet rising energy demand, microgrids offer a budget-friendly option, especially when compared to the alternative, which can involve expanding and upgraded existing power lines.

“When you look at the cost of upgrading lines, the cost of adding additional line capacity, that can be really high. In those cases, having a microgrid can be very cost-effective,” Prabakar says.

For campuses generating power or harnessing wind to support the microgrid, there are additional financial benefits, especially when they partner with enabling organizations. “Imagine having a company that could provide you with reporting around your sustainability efforts and then be able to purchase carbon credits to balance out the whole usage,” Gillum says.

If you’re producing energy for the microgrid, that can even be a revenue source. “You can optimize the power generation locally, do some peak load shifting and shaving, and maybe sell some back to the grid,” Kabalan says.

Microgrids can also support schools’ sustainability objectives. “With a microgrid, you can move around those AI loads to match efficiencies of the grid. Maybe I move my IT loads based on time and demand, coordinating the IT loads to capture higher efficiencies. That can translate into optimal fuel usage,” Prabakar says.

DIG DEEPER: What are four ways to sustainably cool higher education data centers?

Powering the Future: Data Centers, AI and Campus Energy Innovation

Experts see a growing role for microgrids on campus.

“We’re just getting started with AI,” Gillum says. “Colleges aren’t going to stand up just one AI solution; there may be 10 or more across the campus. How do you get the power there? The microgrid is going to be the only thing that’s going to be able to support that.”

Beyond powering AI and supporting energy innovation, a microgrid on campus offers a learning opportunity. “As the grid becomes more distributed, we need the engineers and the highly skilled labor to run and maintain it. That education piece is pretty important,” Kabalan says.

At the Center for Microgrid Research, for example, “we are educating the engineers that we need to run the grid of the 21st century,” he says. “We’re going to cover that in the textbook, and guess what? We’re going down to the basement to check out how this equipment actually works in real life. It provides a very unique, hands-on, real-world experience for our students.”