Virtual Power Plant Empowerment in the Next Generation of Data Centers: Outlining the challenges

The rapidly growing number of hyperscale data centers (DCs) with predominantly artificial intelligence (AI) types of loads in the current regulatory environment of promoting clean energy content suggests increasing the use of distributed energy resources (DERs). Some key factors are regulatory mandates to achieve carbon-free operation and reduce dependency on the electric grid. Although the addition of renewable resources in the form of DERs to DC infrastructure introduces significant challenges in design and operation, it also brings opportunities for implementing sophisticated control and automation to further capture the DER value for enhancing the grid reliability, resilience, and participation in demand response (DR) programs, depending on the location of DCs.