Page 10 - NorthAmOil Week 25 2022
P. 10
NorthAmOil ENERGY TRANSITION NorthAmOil
Power for the microgrid
will be supplied by net-
zero carbon RNG.
Microsoft contracts Enchanted
Rock to develop California’s largest
microgrid supported by biogas
CALIFORNIA MICROSOFT has contracted Enchanted Rock in the industry as businesses continue to move
of Texas to develop California’s largest microg- away from conventional, less carbon-friendly
rid supported by renewable natural gas (RNG) methods, and we expect this project will demon-
or biogas. The data centre is in Silicon Valley near strate that large-scale, reliable and cost-effective
San Jose. back-up generation with net-zero carbon can
Data centres are proliferating as the internet become the new standard.”
and cloud expands. They are power-hungry, and According to Enchanted Rock, the pro-
they need backup power, while Big Tech com- ject will out-perform current California Air
panies are also trying to “green” their energy use Resources Board emissions requirements for
and go net zero. distributed generation, the most stringent in
Microsoft in fact plans to become carbon the world, with hourly local emissions 80%-96%
negative by 2030. lower than Tier 4 diesel standards while deliver-
The microgrid will provide Microsoft’s San ing higher reliability.
Jose, CA data centre with back-up power to Brian Janous, general manager of DC Energy
ensure continuous operations. & Sustainability at Microsoft, said: “This project
Power for the microgrid will be supplied by helps Microsoft take a step towards our goal of
net-zero carbon RNG, injected upstream into eliminating dependence on petroleum-based
the gas pipeline to offset the use of fossil gas. diesel, while increasing the resilience of our data
Enchanted Rock says it sources RNG captured centre and providing a much-needed capacity
from facilities that emit methane such as food resource to the local grid.”
waste and agricultural operations, making the “California needs practical alternatives to
process part of the circular economy, with neu- diesel backup generation in order to protect
tral or negative carbon intensity. public health and prevent catastrophic climate
“Today’s digital world relies on the uptime change,” said Bill Magavern, policy director
and continuity of data centre operations,” said for the Coalition for Clean Air, a state-wide
Thomas McAndrew, CEO of Enchanted Rock. organisation that advocates for clean air poli-
“This continuity does not need to come at the cies. “This means deploying flexible, dispatch-
expense of companies’ carbon emission reduc- able solutions that can tackle the intermittent
tion goals or local air quality.” nature of renewables, while reducing the envi-
He continued: “Microsoft’s decision to pursue ronmental and public health impacts of die-
a renewable microgrid marks another milestone sel-fuelled generators.”
P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 25 23•June•2022
