TECHNO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF DATA CENTER LOAD DEMAND POWERED BY SMALL MODULAR REACTORS AND DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES

Abstract

The rapid increase in data center energy demand, driven by AI and large-scale data processing, poses significant challenges to global energy infrastructure. Data centers require substantial and reliable energy for continuous operations and high-performance computing. Current electrical grids face issues such as transmission congestion and aging infrastructure, making it difficult to meet these demands. Integrating inverter-based-resources (IBRs) like solar and wind presents both opportunities and challenges due to their intermittent nature. Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer a promising solution due to their ability to provide reliable base load power making them ideal for data center operations. This paper presents a techno-economic assessment of powering data center load demand using a combination of SMRs and IBRs in both grid-connected and islanded configurations. In these configurations, SMRs serve as the primary base load power source, providing a steady supply of electricity necessary to meet the load demand of data centers with support from the IBRs. Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) high-performance computing (HPC) facility was modeled in Xendee to represent a small scale data center facility to conduct sizing and dispatch optimization. Key performance indicators such as levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), net present value (NPV) has been calculated to assess the economic feasibility. The findings from this research underscores the strategic benefits of integrating SMR plant with DERs, particularly for critical infrastructure load such as data centers.