Data centers are transforming from passive energy consumers to active participants, driving the future of power reliability and sustainability
With capacity demands rising – driven by the rapid growth of AI and other high-density workloads – data centers must rethink their energy strategies. This shift incentivises data centers to move beyond passive energy consumption, evolving into active energy participants that shape, support, and stabilize the grid.
Grid-interactive microgrids represent a transformative shift, empowering data centers to actively engage with the broader energy ecosystem. In a conversation with DCD, Ryan Spivey, senior sales engineer for data centers, and Joaquin Aguerre, director of strategic portfolio at PowerSecure, shared their insights on how grid-interactive microgrids, AI-driven optimization, and advanced digital tools are transforming power management. Spivey emphasizes:
“A robust energy strategy is needed to manage the AI workloads and demands, characterized by very volatile load profiles. This is causing unprecedented power density demands, creating challenges for the grid as these infrastructure spaces are built out.”
Isolated power players
A microgrid is an intelligent system that integrates one or more energy resources, working together to support a connected load, such as the data center itself. As Spivey explains:
“These self-contained electrical networks seamlessly integrate both generation and consumption. So, you have these interactive energy sources connected to the load, allowing them to not only generate power but also draw from the utility – and vice versa, in a bidirectional flow.”
The flexibility offered by microgrids makes them particularly attractive for modern data centers by enabling participation in demand response and economic dispatch programs. Whether operating in parallel or island mode, the microgrid can adapt to meet the specific needs of the data center at any given time.
Turning backup power assets into revenue-generating resources
Traditional backup power systems, though critical for resilience, often remain idle, waiting for outages rather than actively contributing to value creation. The energy revolution represents a broader transformation, where backup assets are no longer passive insurance policies, but active tools for both resilience and revenue.
Aguerre expands on this, noting that both data centers and utilities share a common need for access to firm, fast-responding energy resources – resources that can come online within seconds during grid capacity constraints or emergencies.
This flexibility not only enhances resilience but also supports decarbonization efforts by enabling utilities to leverage grid-interactive microgrids – such as those installed by data centers – as distributed energy resources (DERs). These DERs help integrate renewables and reduce reliance on carbon-intensive peaker plants. Spivey highlights the strategic value of this integration:
“Being able to integrate emerging tech like DERs is a big play. Being able to seamlessly integrate those into the actual data center system design strengthens reliability and enables participation in energy markets.”
As permitting challenges for traditional Tier II diesel generator backup systems grow, grid-interactive microgrid solutions offer a reduced carbon alternative to address the increasing permitting challenges. This is particularly vital for AI and machine learning workloads, which demand unprecedented power density and responsiveness.
This shift reflects a broader industry trend toward sustainable, grid-supportive infrastructure, where even traditional backup assets are now expected to meet stricter environmental standards while also enhancing both operational reliability and financial performance.
PowerSecure’s three key pillars
To meet these demands, Spivey outlines PowerSecure’s three core pillars: resiliency, emissions reduction, and return on investment.
- Enhanced resiliency: A grid-interactive microgrid provides the data center resiliency for momentary to long-term grid outages. While infrequently, they do occur.
- Reduced emissions: PowerSecure prioritizes the design of future-ready systems that align with customers’ sustainability objectives. This includes integrating renewable energy, battery storage, Tier IV Final Certified diesel generators, and EPA-certified natural gas generators, and the use of renewable fuels wherever possible.
- Return on investment: Maximizing asset utilization is key to financial performance. Spivey emphasizes demand management and accelerated deployment strategies that reduce time to market, enhance operational efficiency, and unlock revenue streams from on-site energy capacity.
Addressing the significant power variability of AI training workloads
By seamlessly integrating energy resources – such as backup generation, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and renewables – grid-interactive microgrids provide unmatched reliability while improving both cost efficiency and sustainability.
BESS units, when embedded within microgrids, deliver rapid response capabilities by instantly compensating for load fluctuations. Their ability to absorb and dispatch power within milliseconds makes them an ideal match for managing the unpredictable power profile of AI training. Spivey explains:
“With AI workloads, both we and our customers are observing significant and unpredictable load fluctuations – ranging from 70 to 90 percent – that occur rapidly. These sudden changes can pose challenges for utilities and may also impact the performance of on-site bridge power solutions, particularly in smaller or less flexible systems.”
Microgrids equipped with advanced controls and real-time analytics can stabilize voltage and frequency, helping mitigate the risks associated with power quality degradation. This ensures system stability even under extreme and fast-changing conditions. Aguerre adds:
“The AI learning load is very momentary and unpredictable – it’s spiky. Energy storage within the microgrid helps cover those spikes, softening the impact on the utility. Understanding the transient nature of the load – its magnitude and duration – is critical for effective planning early in the process.”
In addition, proprietary microgrid controllers continuously monitor both the data center’s load profile and utility interconnection status, allowing the system to autonomously adjust and respond in real time.
Bridge power: Helping mitigate delays in utility interconnection
One of the most pressing challenges in today’s data center landscape is the limited power availability within existing infrastructure.
The concept of bridge power – temporary or interim energy solutions deployed while permanent utility connections are under development – offers a critical stopgap for sites facing prolonged delays, which can stretch into years. As Spivey explains:
“These long utility interconnections in many Tier I and Tier II markets, driven by an aging grid and limited transmission capacity, are creating a huge backlog in applications. With so many speculative projects in the queue, utilities are trying to figure out who’s actually building and who’s just holding a spot.”
A well-designed bridge power system ensures a reliable, independent energy supply, enabling data centers to begin operations while waiting on grid connectivity.
In this way, Spivey reveals that natural gas prime mover technologies can deliver scalable, on-site power, often cleaner than the grid itself. When paired with BESS units, these solutions offer rapid responsiveness – ideal for managing the sharp load fluctuations typical of AI training workloads.
The value of grid-interactive solutions is further amplified by emerging digital tools. Advanced energy management platforms provide real-time visibility, predictive maintenance, and automated energy trading. AI and machine learning enable smarter dispatch strategies, improved load forecasting, and greater operational efficiency. Together, these innovations empower data centers to maintain reliability, optimize costs, and shrink their carbon footprint..
Jumping the queue
This raises an important question: can large energy users – like data centers – serve as flexible demand resources for utilities by adjusting their power usage in response to grid conditions?
Aguerre explains that one of the main challenges for utilities today isn’t supplying energy, but handling capacity spikes. This reality is fueling interest in the idea of large power consumers helping to alleviate grid stress. He explains that in this context, data centers could play a valuable role by:
- Enrolling in interruptible power rate programs, where the utility has the option to temporarily disconnect the site during peak demand
- Shifting operations to alternate locations (a tactic used in some crypto operations, though most data centers have less flexibility)
This model acts as a short-term capacity relief mechanism for utilities while they work on long-term upgrades. In each case, the data center transforms from a static load to a dynamic grid resource, capable of flexing operations to support broader energy resilience. In return, data centers may benefit from earlier grid access – effectively “jumping the queue” – while supporting overall grid resilience.
PowerSecure’s legacy in distributed energy resources
At the heart of this evolution is PowerSecure, a leader in microgrid solutions. With decades of experience delivering resilient microgrids and cutting-edge energy technologies, PowerSecure helps data centers harness the full potential of grid-interactive solutions. Its approach empowers data centers to fully step into this active role – designing, managing, and monetizing power as a strategic asset.
Leveraging real-time analytics, AI-powered dispatch strategies, and Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) models, PowerSecure delivers scalable, resilient, and cost-effective microgrid systems tailored to the evolving demands of modern data centers.
Spivey underscores the value of early engagement to ensure project success:
“We like to be in on the ‘ground zero,’ working with our customers as they’re developing these solutions. Our in-house professional engineers collaborate with our project development team to design tailored microgrid solutions, providing conceptual designs and guiding customers hand-in-hand toward the best path to market.”
By joining customer planning discussions from the outset, PowerSecure ensures its solutions are aligned with each client’s specific goals and challenges.
Offering fully integrated energy systems – including paralleling switchgear, generation, and BESS units – PowerSecure delivers a streamlined, single-source approach that accelerates deployment and optimizes performance.
The evolution of energy management
As data centers evolve from passive energy consumers to proactive participants in the energy ecosystem, emerging innovations will redefine power reliability and sustainability. Grid-interactive microgrids, coupled with cutting-edge digital tools, represent the next frontier in energy efficiency, enabling data centers to take an active role in managing their power needs.
In a world where uptime is non-negotiable and energy strategy is a competitive differentiator, PowerSecure leads the way in delivering grid-interactive solutions that transform the role of power in data center operations. As Spivey aptly puts it:
“The future of the data center market will be driven by a collaborative approach – data centers, utilities, and suppliers working together. Innovation is happening at a rapid pace, and we’re excited to be at the forefront, helping customers navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
The convergence of microgrids, advanced digital tools, and intelligent energy management marks a pivotal moment – one where the data centers of tomorrow are powered by smarter, more adaptive energy solutions today.
For more information, please visit: Data Center Power Distribution & Backup Power | PowerSecure.
