Energy flexibility interfaces: IPCEI-CIS MISD - Deliverable 2.7

The energy transition fundamentally changes the way consumers (small and large) interact with the electricity system. In the past, consumers could simply count on electricity producers to match their production with the energy needs of the consumers. The electricity grid also had sufficient capacity to deliver the electricity around the clock. The needs of the consumers were met by the electricity system and they could afford to play a rather passive role. Due to the changes brought about by the energy transition, consumers are increasingly becoming an active part of the electricity system. They are being asked to be more flexible in their consumption patterns. Since data centres are major consumers of electricity, the question arises what impact these developments will have on them. This can be divided into two sub-questions:
- Where are the opportunities for data centres with regard to energy flexibility?
- Where should this flexibility come from?
This deliverable investigates the potential of energy flexibility in and for data centres and designs the necessary interface(s) between the relevant stakeholders. Why is flexibility becoming a relevant topic for data centres? From an energy perspective: what are the issues around sustainable energy and how do they have an impact on data centre operation? Which NL/EU legislations are already in place and are expected to be installed? How does legislation influence the data centre operation and perhaps even their customers now and in the upcoming years? What should (new) interface look like between the energy operators and the data centres, and between the data centres and its customers? Within the context of this deliverable making data centres more sustainable means reducing CO2 emissions. Other relevant sustainability topics, such as embodied carbon, are out of scope because their possible contribution to flexibility is low.