Flexible data centers can cut power costs but raise emissions

MIT researchers at MIT Sloan and CEEPR published a study in iScience titled “Flexible Data Centers Reduce Power System Costs But Can Increase Emissions.”

• Main finding: The study models U.S. grid scenarios and finds that allowing data centers to shift load off peak hours can reduce power-system costs by up to 5% in Texas, 4% in the Mid-Atlantic, and 2% in the Western Interconnect; achieving these savings requires moving >20% (sometimes ~50%) of consumption to non-peak hours and depends on how many hours load can be shifted.
• Background and details: The paper reports modeled CO2 impacts under projected data-center growth to 2030 (relative to no growth): +58% (Texas), +20% (Mid-Atlantic), +24% (Western U.S.); regionally, a flexible regime can reduce emissions in Texas (up to 40% fewer CO2 in the modeled scenario) but increase emissions in the Mid-Atlantic (system-wide +3%) by enabling coal plants to stay online. The authors discuss policy levers such as “connect and manage” (quicker grid hookups in exchange for time-of-use flexibility).