The data center market is experiencing a boom due to the growth of cloud services and the revolution represented by AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Oracle, among others, are expected to invest $1 trillion in new data centers over the next five years, doubling energy consumption by 2030.
On the other hand, high demands for computational power thanks to AI are driving data center operators to improve their electrical infrastructure to ensure a continuous, reliable, redundant and resilient power supply.
In the case of Mexico, according to the National Electric System Development Program (PRODESEN) and the Mexican Association of Data Centers (AMDC), the main challenge in the field of data centers is the supply of energy, since the increase in services and the implementation of AI is much more exponential than the growth of electrical infrastructure.
In this scenario, we need not only to have an effective planning of the electrical infrastructure, but also to count on the participation of the Data Center industry in actions that allow mitigating and making electricity consumption more efficient. Among the actions that are suggested are:
· Energy efficiency: Optimizing energy consumption is crucial to reducing costs and minimizing environmental impact, which involves implementing advanced refrigeration technologies and energy management systems.
· Renewable energy sources: Incorporating them is essential to reduce the carbon footprint of data centers. In addition, it helps meet the clean energy goals set by PRODESEN, which seeks to reach 35% clean energy by 2024 and 43% by 2030
· Intelligent Energy Management: Using energy monitoring and management tools is key to maintaining the efficient operation of data centers. This includes analyzing energy usage patterns to achieve savings and prevent failures.
· Security and scalability: Ensuring that facilities are sustainable and can withstand the increasing demands of real-time data processing will be important especially with the increased use of artificial intelligence.
Undoubtedly, these challenges require careful planning and the adoption of innovative technologies to ensure that data centers in Mexico can operate efficiently and sustainably.
In the case of the adoption of innovative technologies, ABB Electrification's portfolio of solutions stands out, which helps data center customers around the world meet the energy challenges of today and tomorrow: from ensuring uptime to monitoring energy efficiency.
For example, a medium-voltage UPS, such as ABB's HiPerGuard, provides a continuous and reliable power supply to support increasing power demands. In addition, it can be used as a battery storage solution, stabilizing and securing grids by tapping into unused energy reserves.
In the case of microgrid solutions, it allows data centers to take advantage of on-site generation, where solar panels coupled to a battery energy storage system.
Also noteworthy, the ABB Ability Data Center Automation platform optimizes energy use and reduces costs by automating cooling systems, which account for approximately 40% of a data center's energy consumption. At a basic level, this integration and automation platform enables transparency and interoperability for continuous optimization and high availability.
Other benefits of ABB Ability Data Center Automation include:
· Open, embeddable platform that enables data exchange and automation across systems, equipment, components, and applications.
· Integrate data center toolsets faster, including uploading assets into tracking tools, as well as data from IT, energy, cooling, and building systems. This allows you to avoid manual data entries to calculate utilization metrics and other KPIs.
· View and manage physical assets within a single view of the entire data center, including multiple sites. Real-time visibility includes both high-level (aggregated) and low-level (granular) views of data center infrastructure such as views of the enterprise, floor plan, zone, system, and components. In addition, when combined with third-party optimization tools of your choice, capacity planning and management capabilities are expanded.
· Automate refrigeration and electrical systems for continuous optimization and increased availability.
As the AI revolution progresses, data center infrastructure will continue to be challenged, making it essential to adopt disruptive technologies like ABB's to improve energy efficiency, reduce costs and ensure uptime for a sustainable future.
*Vanessa Varela, Segment Leader Electrification Business at ABB Mexico
