Data centre blackout risk spurs tougher standard call
Australia’s data center boom risks widespread power outages and cascading grid failures without tighter connectivity standards, an energy market regulator has warned.
The Australian Energy Market Commission wants energy-hungry utilities to be able to recover from grid outages without problems, citing outages caused by data centers in the United States and Ireland.
Australia has become a preferred destination for data centers to meet the world’s growing digital footprint and appetite for artificial intelligence.
The country now has the world’s second-largest investment pipeline, and data center energy use is expected to grow from two percent of domestic annual consumption to 12 percent by 2050.
Federal policymakers are aware of infrastructure-related energy and water use and are developing frameworks as part of the National Artificial Intelligence Plan.
The proposed rule changes should prevent data centers from being unplugged simultaneously during a voltage drop and causing network instability, the commission said.
Two years ago, 60 data centers in Virginia simultaneously pulled 1,500 MW from the grid during a single fault, forcing operators to take immediate action to prevent widespread power outages.
Ireland has gone so far as to impose a moratorium on new data centers due to network outages.
Australian Energy Market Commission chief executive Anna Collyer said such events could cost consumers billions of dollars in lost electricity supplies and emergency network upgrades.
“Data centers are no longer passive loads, but active grid participants,” he said.
“When they fail to work through errors, they have the potential to trigger cascading failures and power outages.”
He said the proposed changes would prevent stability issues without hindering investment in the sector.
“Data center operators know exactly what is required in advance.”
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