Question. Why do data centers need to be connected to a dirty, expensive, unreliable electrical grid? Answer. They don’t and they don’t want to be either. Integrating a data center directly into the power plant — what we are calling our Data Plant program –will allow a data center to pick its sustainable fuel source and shield itself from grid volatility.
Over on our Global Foundation Services website, Christian Belady, General Manager of Data Center Services explains the research behind Microsoft’s first-ever grid independent fuel cell data center that is fueled directly from biogas. The experiment is small scale, so we can demonstrate and measure the benefits of it like we did with our “data center in a tent project” in 2008.
You can learn more about data plants and Microsoft first grid-independent fuel cell data center over on the new Global Foundation Services website