Over the past year or more, there has been an uptick of interest in the infrastructure behind AI – the data centers (which are much more energy-dense than the data centers being built just a few years ago) and their seemingly insatiable need for power. Most recently, the news has turned to plans to co-locate power plants with the new AI data centers.
Often, however, the focus seems to be on the data centers. “I can’t stress enough the added complexity that will come with co-location of a large power plant with a data center,” said Benjamin Juhnke, PE, Industrial Preconstruction Manager at McGough. “It isn’t one project – it’s two major, complicated, high-tech facilities on one site.”
At McGough, we have spent decades building cutting edge data centers and power stations for a wide range of businesses and institutions. With that experience in mind, the McGough team has a few lessons learned we believe owners, engineers and construction companies should consider.
1. These aren’t just backup generators – they are utility-scale power plants.
In fact, they have performance and reliability expectations that even exceed historical utility specifications. The regulations and hurdles for building large and high-performance power plants are much, much higher than for a diesel backup generator. Also, communities that are concerned about the noise and appearance of data centers will have similar concerns about a power plant. “Owners need to work with local, state and federal authorities, the local utilities, and community groups to gain buy-in for the power plant as well as the data center,” said Juhnke.
2. Large power plants take time.
Owners should be thinking about building the plant from day one – adding a power plant halfway through a data center construction is a challenge to align project schedules and data center uptime goals. Any delay in the power plant would likely mean a delay in delivering resilient AI services. Power plants of this size can take years to go through the permitting process, design, and construction. In other words, the planning for the power plant can’t start too soon.
3. Now owners need to triangulate data connection, the electrical grid AND fuel supply.
For data centers, the truism is that you find the site by finding the spot on the map where internet connectivity and power lines meet – a case where “X marks the spot.” If you add a power plant (which may or may not tie into the power grid) now you also have to think about a fuel source. “If it’s a natural gas plant, can you find a place where a gas line also lies nearby?” asks Juhnke. “If you’re using diesel, how close is a pipeline, or will you need a fleet of trucks? You have to consider these things as soon as a power plant enters the picture.”
4. Make sure you have planned for staffing.
A power plant needs a permanent staff of trained people to run it above and beyond the people who will oversee the data center. Since many of the new AI-scale data centers are being built in rural areas where there is land and fewer neighbors, co-locating a power plant means finding or recruiting local employees with another special set of skills. It may not be an issue, and many towns will welcome new good-paying jobs, but it still has to be factored in. A good place to start recruiting? The veteran community: “In my experience, former U.S. Navy operators are very familiar with reciprocating engine, gas turbine, boilers, and steam turbine systems,” said Juhnke.
5. These plants need to be designed for flexibility.
As the power plant gets bigger, the calculations get more complex. Spikes in computing demand can come on quickly. How fast can a power plant get up to speed? Do you have enough uninterruptible power supply (UPS) backups that can bridge the time from the start of a spike until the power plant is fully up to speed? How much does it cost to keep the generators warm (on hot standby, in industry terms) so they can ramp up faster? These questions need to be answered, coordinated during design, and diligently implemented during commissioning.
This next generation of data centers is going to open up a new world of productivity and opportunity, and it’s exciting to see owners and builders rising to the challenge with new ways to approach the problem of power supply. All of the challenges described here can – and will – be managed with sufficient thought and advance planning. The key is to make sure you have a partner or partners who can handle both types of major construction project and will work well together at the same time on the same site.
Both data centers and energy projects have been a part of McGough’s repertoire for decades. Now, as we see these two areas of expertise converging, we look forward to helping a new generation of technology take flight.