LUT Study: Solar, Wind Can Power Data Centers 24/7

A new study from LUT University of Finland has found that wind and solar power could supply reliable baseload electricity for large data centers in Nordic countries, when paired with energy storage and renewable backup generation.  

The research examined an off-grid system designed to deliver a continuous 1 GW electricity supply for data centers. The proposed configuration relies primarily on wind and solar PV generation, supported by a battery energy storage system (BESS). A biogas-fueled power plant was added as a back-up to maintain reliability during periods of low renewable output.  

The study found that supplying data centers with 24/7 renewable electricity would require wind and solar capacity to be around ‘seven-times’ larger than the facilities’ actual power demand, leading to significant curtailment of excess generation during periods of high renewable output.  

“Essentially, data centres are baseload consumers with continuous electricity demand every hour of the day. Because a data centre's consumption typically can't adapt much to fluctuations in renewable electricity generation, the wind and solar power capacity allocated to it must be substantially oversized,” explained Junior Researcher Altti Meriläinen. 

The team also concluded that wind, solar and battery storage alone cannot guarantee uninterrupted power supply. Researchers see making renewable-fueled backup plants powered by biogas or green hydrogen as necessary to ensure reliability during prolonged periods of low renewable generation. 

To arrive at these results, researchers analyzed 2 operating scenarios: continuous full-baseload power supply (8,760 hours/annum) throughout the year, and a more flexible system operating at least 8,000 hours/annum—both mirroring the operational characteristics of nuclear power plants.  

In both cases, wind and solar accounted for majority of electricity generation. The findings show that the lowest-cost renewable baseload system requires significant overbuilding of solar and wind capacity, leading to substantial energy curtailment. However, reducing annual operating hours to 8,000 can lower system costs by 15%–24% by reducing reliance on backup generation, as per the findings.  

Despite the need for oversized renewable capacity, the system remained economically competitive. “The study shows that continuous electricity supply for data centres is technically and economically feasible in Finland using only renewable energy sources at a production cost of around €103–121/MWh,” adds the LUT team.  

Project location also plays a major role in electricity costs, it adds, with the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) at the most favorable site up to 24% lower than at the least favorable one. For continuous operation, the LCOE is around €100/MWh, while in the 8,000-hour scenario it falls below €80/MWh at the best locations. 

According to the researchers, the results suggest that renewable-based baseload systems can remain cost-competitive with new nuclear power plants, even under less favorable conditions, supporting their viability in Nordic countries.

They highlight that solar-based power systems can be deployed faster, expanded more easily, and begin generating electricity sooner than nuclear plants, also because in Finland, the LCOE of solar PV is lower than that of wind power. It also notes that regions with strong year-round solar resources could achieve lower-cost baseload renewable power with less energy storage. 

“The results of this paper, though specific to a Finnish setting, are also applicable in a broader global context,” add the researchers in the study titled Techno-economic feasibility of a renewable baseload power supply for data centers.