Project: Reducing Data Center Peak Cooling Demand and Energy Costs with Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES)
Initiative: Geothermal and Data Centers
Project Lead: National Laboratory of the Rockies
Project Sub: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Chicago, Princeton University
Project Timeline: 01/01/2025 - 07/01/2026
Led by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), the Reducing Data Center Peak Cooling Demand and Energy Costs with Underground Thermal Energy Storage project aims to address data center peak cooling demands by incorporating cold underground thermal energy storage (UTES) technology.
The project team has evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of Cold UTES technologies through modeling of projected data center thermal and cooling loads over the next 30 years. The analysis also assessed two key data center markets, Virginia and Arizona, using a modeled 1-gigawatt data center in each location to evaluate the impact of Cold UTES technology on the substation serving the data center the broader transmission and distribution network, and the electrical loads inside the facility.
The goal was to quantify the technical and economic value of Cold UTES for data center cooling, including its potential to reduce peak electrical demand and energy costs, increase computing capacity, minimize water consumption, and reduce power system infrastructure costs for utilities and the grid.
The analysis confirmed that Cold UTES can provide cost-effective industrial-scale cooling solutions, offering value to data center and grid system operators.
Learn about the Office of Geothermal’s data, modeling, and analysis efforts, and geothermal storage technologies.
More About This Project:
- Reducing Data Center Peak Cooling Demand and Energy Costs With Underground Thermal Energy Storage (Phase 1 report)
- Reducing Data Center Peak Cooling Demand and Energy Costs With Underground Thermal Energy Storage (article)
- Computing Facilities Can Save Big and Keep Cool by Looking Underground (article)