It’s well established that large data centers are seeking cheap power. That criteria can lead to locations where substation improvements are required to provide the redundant power paths that are a key criteria of a modern data center. From a very basic perspective, power should enter the site from different substations following route diversity. Each substation should be sized to handle the entire projected load.
Practically, however, the utility company or the customer may need to engage the services of Power Engineers who specialize in distribution systems and substation design to optimize for the location and to satisfy specific utility requirements.
The intersection of cheap power, available fiber capacity, and low real estate costs has been the recipe for data center site selection. John Rath makes an important observation that “Businesses large and small want their infrastructure in close proximity to their business offices” (read more from John’s data center site selection paper).
This means that data centers will continue to be opened in areas that require upgraded electrical infrastructure. This could range from simple increases in electrical service to full blown re-engineering of the utility feeds that service the desired site.
Modern data centers require the appropriate electrical infrastrucutre of capacity and route diversity to serve their desired purpose.