APPLICATIONS - Solar Powered, Grid Connected Datacenters

With this configuration, Solar power from the photovoltaic panels passes through our gateway directly to the 380VDC bus of the datacenter. This configuration is nearly 100% efficient and only succeptable to wire-losses and minimal losses through a diode in our gateway. Additional power, when needed, comes from the grid where any necessary AC power is rectified to DC. This system uses all available power from the cheapest source first, then supplements when needed from the grid.

The Old Way: A Traditional Solar System.
Solar Panels ---> Inverter ---> Rectifier in the Computer Power Supply ---> Computer
AC Grid --->Rectifier in the Computer Power Supply ---> Computer

The Nextek Way
Solar Panels ---> Computer
AC Grid ---> Rectifier in the Gateway ---> Computer

In addition, traditional solar systems are subject to a law called "Anti-Islanding" which requires that all solar systems shut down, instantly, in the event of a grid failure. This is because traditional solar systems put AC into the grid, which would endanger line workers on a down grid. Solar systems in New Orleans after the hurricane were shut down.

The Nextek Technology is not subject to Anti-Islanding laws. This means that the DC powered equipment stays on during a daytime power failure without relying on the battery backup. Battery life is extended and the length of time that the system can stay on is extended indefinately.

Direct Current-Powering Demonstrates Significant Reduction in Data Center Energy Use.
News Media Can Tour Innovative Direct Current Data Center Demonstration Throughout July and August, in Silicon Valley

Berkeley, CA—Data centers are the backbone of the Information Age, providing data storage for websites and databases, and supporting virtually every larger-sized private corporation and institution. Data centers can use 100 times more electricity than a typical office building (on a square foot basis), so energy costs are a major concern.

With financial support from the California Energy Commission, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have teamed with Silicon Valley giants including Sun, Intel, Cisco, and many other industry partners, to demonstrate technologies that have the potential to reduce the operating cost of data centers by billions of dollars a year, while maintaining or even improving reliability, lengthening the life of servers, and saving energy.

The strategy involves eliminating a significant amount of the electrical power lost in traditional data centers through multiple AC and DC conversion steps at today’s data centers. By distributing DC (direct current) instead of AC (alternating current—from the electricity grid) throughout the data center, electrical power losses are reduced, as are the parts needed for conversion. In addition to energy savings, DC distribution reduces facility cooling needs, cuts floor space demand, and increases reliability. The seamless integration of solar, wind or any other renewable power source at the site is an added benefit of this new DC architecture.

The partners have assembled an operating demonstration of DC power strategies. The demonstration will be available for members of the press to view.


The Berkeley Lab Project team will provide a summary presentation, a tour of the facility, and a question-and-answer session.


More information on DC-powering of data centers:
http://hightech.lbl.gov/dc-powering/about.html
http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2002_releases/2002-03-01_server_farms_nr.html
Berkeley Lab is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory located in Berkeley, California. It conducts unclassified scientific research and is managed by the University of California. Visit our Website at www.lbl.gov.
Contact Fay Savage for more on Nextek Power Systems
Fay.savage@nextekpower.com