Page 21 - Energize July 2022

NEWS

Collaboration on grid-interactive

UPS technology

Collaboration to advance the energy transition and enable customers to reach their
sustainability goals

ntelligent power management monetize underutilized assets, for example by providing energy storage and supplying the
company Eaton has announced fast frequency response services that grid operators will increasingly need as renewable
Iit will expand its collaboration capacity increases and the grid loses the inertia associated with fossil fuel generation.
with Microsoft to accelerate Explaining the significance of this, Craig McDonnell, senior vice-president and general
applications of its EnergyAware manager of the Energy Transition and Digital division at Eaton, said: “A grid-interactive UPS
uninterruptible power system helps decarbonize energy at grid level which means that its sustainability benefit extends
(UPS) technology in key segments beyond the data centre. This changes the game in terms of energy management within the
worldwide. The expansion is part data centre’s overall environmental impact profile.”
of a new strategic framework “A grid-interactive data centre is one where its extensive electrical system functions
agreement between Eaton and not only to protect customer IT data and applications but also to provide valuable electrical
Microsoft designed to address services back to the transmission system operator and the grid. These auxiliary services will
major industry developments be increasingly critical to help grids cope with high levels of variable renewable energy,” said
including digital transformation, Sean James, Director of Data Centre Research, Microsoft.
sustainability and the energy
transition. Contact Eaton Electric (South Africa), Phone 011 824-7400,
A key element of the strategic PoweradvantageITAfrica@eaton.com, https://www.eaton.com
framework agreement is the
inclusion of Eaton’s proprietary
EnergyAware UPS technology in
Microsoft projects. The primary
function of a UPS is to provide
backup power protection for
mission critical applications and
facilities and to protect them from
grid outages or power quality
issues. Through close collaboration
over several years, Eaton and
Microsoft have added digital
capabilities to the UPS, which
allows it to be used as a distributed
energy resource (DER) to support
grids with high levels of variable
renewable energy generation.
This will allow for a new
generation of ‘grid-interactive’
data centres, including those
operated by Microsoft, to support
grid operators with the provision
of critical flexibility services.
Selling flexibility into the grid is
an opportunity for data centres to

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