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Siemens Energy Management has partnered with Microsoft and FuelCell Energy to provide a series of services including a power monitoring solution, for a data center in Cheyenne, WY. The project uses biogas methane produced by common waste byproducts at the nearby Dry Creek wastewater facility to power the fuel cell system. The fuel cell system then converts the biogas into electricity to power the Microsoft datacenter.
Siemens engineered and installed intelligent controls, power monitoring hardware and energy management software that is helping to power the nation’s first zero-carbon data center that will be entirely independent from the grid. The system measures the overall performance and energy output of the fuel cell to ensure consistent, high-quality power is delivered to operate Microsoft’s data center 24-7. By utilizing Siemens’ intelligent technology, renewable resources like biogas and technologies such as fuel cells can be a proven source of reliable energy for full-scale power projects.
"In any data center, power quality and reliability is key since the facility must run uninterrupted 24-7 to protect information stored there,” said Kevin Yates, head of Siemens Energy Management Division. “Siemens’ engineers brought their vast data center and power industry expertise to build a custom solution that proves resources like biogas and fuel cells can be relied on to provide reliable power to critical installations.”
Microsoft and FuelCell Energy came to Siemens with specific parameters for the project, and based on this data, Siemens engineered the power monitoring technology to provide detailed insight into the power generation process so the biogas and fuel cell concept could be shown to produce reliable energy and move the project from pilot to full-scale.
How the Power Monitoring System Works
The Microsoft data center will operate completely off the grid and, based on measurements from Siemens’ power monitoring system, is expected to produce 250kW of renewable power and use approximately 100 kW. The additional power will be sent back to the waste water treatment facility to reduce its electric bills.
As part of the integrated solution, Siemens also provided environmental controls for this project inside the datacenter to manage air temperature, flow, and humidity. Siemens also provided circuit breakers that deliver energy to the servers and protect power supply in cases of low or high energy levels within the container.