Britain has significant potential for behind-the-meter solar PV projects to meet the power demand of its data centres, but actually implementing projects could be “very challenging” for developers.
This is the view of Sophie Browning, a senior associate at Xela Energy, a developer behind the meter solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS), who spoke at a panel discussion during this afternoon’s Clean Power 2030 Summits, hosted by Solar energy portal publisher Solar Media. Browning noted that the high interest in building renewable energy projects to supply data centers is exciting for developers, but questions are often asked about how to bring these projects online.
“From a developer perspective, it’s very challenging to have all these projects that seem exciting,” she said. “We see a lot of interest in private wire, because you are behind the meter [power]lower costs and physical green elections delivered to the location.
“But [there is a lack of] The urgency to deliver that to the buyer,” Browning continued. “The contract term is long, and in reality solar covers 30% of their load, and then the negotiation piece is not just cut and paste, it’s just as customized.”
The fact that behind-the-meter solar energy will often not meet the full demand of a data center was also an important topic of discussion, and the deployment of a project that aims to meet the full demand of a customer, and a project that is part of a more complex energy supply picture, are different issues.
“It won’t just be the private wire solution, you have to build on that and look at your whole energy supply arrangement,” says Bertie Readhead, co-founder and director of consultant Navexis.
Providing a more tailor-made energy supply
When asked whether the development of this more complex energy supply could benefit from government policy, in response to concerns raised on the first day of the summit that the UK political landscape could be an obstacle to future deployments, Harry Robertson, commercial manager at Ampyr Distributed Energy, said this is a challenge for off-takers and developers to solve, rather than a “policy gap” to be closed.
“A renewable asset is not going to provide 100% of that load and they can operate in island mode, so from a policy perspective I don’t think there is a policy gap,” Robertson said.
“You’re always going to struggle with scale, and because data centers value resiliency the most, they’re going to want some sort of backup connection, and that backup connection is unlikely to operate in island mode,” Robertson continued. “You would want a connection to the grid, and the same goes for the means of production.”
Readhead added that there is some ambiguity in the industry, as data center operators are often unwilling to “put their hats on” and publicly announce what types of projects they plan to build, and what types of renewable energy installations they would like to install. However, he pointed to technological innovations in the space – such as blockchain tracking that can monitor the precise origins of green electrons – that could be used to enable more customized energy supply agreements between developers and off-takers.
“It’s great to see more innovation in the space in the sector – blockchain technology tracks electrons in and electrons out – and the private renewable energy wire is a core component,” Readhead said. “But a more virtual Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) setup could lead the way in wanting to demonstrate that these projects can be powered by renewable energy sources, no matter how much they increase demand.”
Browning added that she expects “a microgrid strategy” to meet data center power demands in the future, and that changing views on behind-the-meter solar installations, especially in Britain, could benefit all industry participants if they want to sign these more tailored deals.
“In Britain, where we have high energy costs, behind the meter is a cost-saving solution, rather than just green energy,” she explained.
