Pacific Northwest Data Center Jumping Interconnection Queue by Embracing Battery Storage
The biggest players in private equity investment are backing companies bringing a unique power generation solution to support massive demand from AI and data centers.
Digital infrastructure designer Aligned Data Centers, which is being acquired by a subsidiary of BlackRock, is contracting Macquarie-backed Calibrant Energy to provide 62 MWh of on-site battery storage capacity to power a new data center under development in the Pacific Northwest.
Calibrant Energy will deliver the 31-MW/62-MWH battery system expected to be operational by 2026. This on-site power will allow Aligned’s facility to come online and scale operations quicker than would be possible with traditional utility grid upgrades, the company says.
Using On-Site Battery Storage to Shorten Interconnection Times
The Aligned press release promoted the project as being the first American battery system purpose-built and sited to accelerate interconnection for a large-scale data center.
“This project flips the script on how data centers access power,” said Phil Martin, CEO at Calibrant, in a statement. “Rather than the false choice between waiting years for system upgrades or having to go off grid entirely, we’re working with leading data center providers like Aligned to use distributed energy solutions to facilitate and accelerate grid interconnection.”
Calibrant’s Path to Power solution leverages the battery energy storage to overcome capacity utility grid bottlenecks which can delay interconnection by years. The Path to Power system is designed to be grid-responsive and discharge during peak demand as well as ensure power resiliency for Aligned’s customers.
“This strategic project redefines how we grow in power-constrained markets,” said Andrew Schaap, CEO at Aligned. “With this BESS, we’re converting our load from a potential grid liability into a dynamic grid asset, providing the regional utility with the tools needed to accelerate our ramp. And we’re doing it responsibly, without impacting ratepayers.”
Private Equity Betting Big on AI and Power
Earlier this year, the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) and private equity investor BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) announced they were acquiring 100% of equity in Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management and co-investing partners.
The enterprise value of the Aligned Data Centers acquisition was estimated at around $40 billion. AIP was founded by BlackRock, GIP, MGX, Microsoft and NVIDIA. The Aligned acquisition is expected to close next year.
The rise of AI, cloud-based and hyperscale data computing is being matched by a massive desire for new electric power capacity to energize facilities. Those resources include advanced nuclear, gas-fired power, renewables and, increasingly, battery storage innovations.
Aligned already has developed close to 50 data center campuses totaling more than 5 GW of operational or planned capacity.
Macquarie Asset Management also holds the controlling take in Calibrant Energy, having founded the company five years ago as part of a joint venture with Siemens. Siemens eventually exited the collaboration.
Earlier this year, Calibrant energized three front-of-the-meter battery storage systems in Westchester County, New York. The batteries were manufactured in the U.S., according to the release.
The Global Battery Storage Race is On from China to U.S.
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About the Author
Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor
Managing Editor
For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
Rod Walton has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.