Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 20 | Page 52

COUNTRY FOCUS: NETHERLANDS “ WITH THIS ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM, THE JOHAN CRUYFF ARENA IN AMSTERDAM IS AN INTERESTING EXAMPLE OF WHAT MIGHT BE THE FUTURE OF MANY DATA CENTRES. evening, the energy stored in the batteries is sufficient to meet the energy requirements for an hour. If all systems are not actually switched on, the arena can extend this period to three hours. Outside this period, energy will have to be taken from the grid. It is interesting to note that it is of course not necessary to draw maximum electrical energy from the batteries every evening. At times when there are no events planned, Amsterdam Energy Arena BV can use the storage capacity in other ways. Think of energy services that are delivered to the grid. This will give the local grid operator increased and improved opportunities to keep the grid in balance. This can be done by temporarily storing energy from the grid in the batteries of the arena or by drawing energy from them and transferring that electrical energy to the network. Peak shaving supply in the venues where they perform. In too many places there are problems with the quality and robustness of the network, in their experience. They prefer to bring their own diesel generators to ensure uninterrupted power supply during their events. In the case of the arena, this is no longer necessary as these artists can now call on the battery storage. Future for data centres With this energy storage system, the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam is an interesting example of what might be the future of many data centres. European projects such as EV Energy and CATALYST are working hard to enable the integration of data centres and smart grids. Batteries and UPS systems at the data centre are connected to the grid via smart management software. The advantages for grid operators are then, of course, clear. However, the Amsterdam Energy Arena also provides other services; for example, electric or hybrid cars can be charged via bi- directional charging stations in the stadium. But the other way around is also possible: temporary energy storage in the batteries of these cars. Peak shaving is also possible. Depending on supply and demand, peaks and troughs in energy consumption can be absorbed by using energy from the batteries. Peak shaving and a better organised form of backup power is also possible. Another remarkable application: backup power during events. Many major artists who give concerts in venues such as the Amsterdam Arena generally do not rely on the backup energy 52 INTELLIGENTCIO As with the Amsterdam Arena, they can then use the storage capacity of a data centre – the batteries installed there – to help keep the network stable. Because data centres may invest more in renewable energy generation, they may also be able to supply energy to the network. Robbert Hoeffnagel of Green IT Amsterdam Of course, this also creates interesting opportunities for data centres. Until now, they function on the basis of a business model that has only one financial pillar: selling space for processing data. Particularly in many commercial data centres we see that the margins on projects of this kind tend to decline: the www.intelligentcio.com