Integrating data centres into demand-response management: A local case study

Power supply needs to match power demand up to a certain extent at all times in order to provide power with sufficient quality and to maintain the power grid in a stable state. Matching power supply to power demand becomes challenging due to a steadily increasing power demand and due to an increasing production of power based on renewable energy sources. Demand-response management shapes power demand according to the current power availability in the power grid. This paper discusses the feasibility and benefits of integrating data centres into demand-response schemes. Newly designed energy tariffs (so-called green supply-demand agreements) are presented that provide incentives for a possible cooperation between energy provider and data centre. Furthermore, this paper performs a local case study, where financial benefits of integrating data centres into demand-response management are evaluated in a real-world example.