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微软数据中心未来电源将采取多条发展路径 微软公司在面对目前数据中心电力需求爆炸的情形下，认为并不是“非此即彼”，提供了多种解决方案，来解决电力问题。在遇到困境时，行业巨头总能表现出领导者的魄力和解决问题的决心，这是我们行业从业者需要学习的心态，也为数据中心行业的发展注入了一针强心剂。 微软意识到数据中心电源的未来不是非此即彼，而是“以上所有”的命题。这家云巨头本月再次展示了它是如何知道解决数据中心园区日益增长的电力困境将需要利用氢和核技术，作为可持续和可再生发电解决方案的一部分。 Microsoft gets that the future of data center power isn't either/or, but rather an 'all of the above' proposition. The cloud giant has this month again demonstrated how it knows solving data center campuses' burgeoning power dilemma will require leveraging both hydrogen and nuclear technologies, as part of a mosaic of sustainable and renewable power generation solutions.
位于怀俄明州夏延的云数据中心 Microsoft's cloud data centers in Cheyenne, Wyoming 影迷们都知道，又到了奥斯卡颁奖季，好莱坞制片厂宣传或发行他们认为最有可能获得好评的电影，希望在奥斯卡颁奖典礼上大获全胜。 As movie fans know, it's Oscar season again, the time period in which Hollywood studios promote or release the films they consider most likely to be critically acclaimed, hoping to win big at the Academy Awards. 去年最佳影片奖得主的标题“Everything Everywhere All at Once”可能是数据中心行业梦寐以求的，并由...Microsoft？ The title of last year's Best Picture winner, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' could've been dreamed up by the data center industry, and produced by...Microsoft? 现在每个人都知道，在即将到来的世界人工智能抽奖活动中，数据中心行业面临着可怕的电力危机。这种困境与其说是电力容量的问题，还不如说是与可用输电线路的面积以及与可再生能源丰富电力的接近程度有关。 Everyone now knows the data center industry is up against a frightening power crunch in the world's oncoming AI sweepstakes. The quandary isn't so much one of power capacity, which is furnishable, as much as it is specifically tied to the area of available transmission lines and sites' proximity to plentiful power from renewable sources. DCF创始人里奇米勒最近的一篇文章描述并举例说明了这一趋势，该文章打破了自治领土能源公司在全球数据中心行业领跑者北方弗吉尼亚州周围地区的困境。 This trend was described and exemplified by DCF founder Rich Miller's recent article breaking down Dominion Energy's approach to the condundrum as it's playing out in the environs of global data center industry frontrunner, Northern Virginia. Bisnow的Dan Rabb最近在本月早些时候的一篇文章中也提到了这一点，他宣称“数据中心的电力危机越来越严重，看不到尽头”，这是根据去年12月在弗吉尼亚州举行的DICE数据中心管理，运营和冷却会议上所做的观察。 It was also recently recounted by Bisnow's Dan Rabb in an article earlier this month declaring that 'the data center power crunch [is getting] worse, with no end in sight,' based on observations made in wrapping up the publication's DICE Data Center Management, Operations and Cooling conference in Virginia last December. 根据麦肯锡最近的数据，在传统云的扩张中，人工智能的推动下，美国数据中心的电力需求预计将从2022年的17吉瓦（GW）增加一倍以上，到2030年将达到35吉瓦。但 Rabb 的文章强调，在去年全行业生成式 AI 拐点之前的几天里，人们对数据中心电力紧缩的这种认识并不总是如此，正如 ChatGPT 所迎来的那样。 Per recent data from McKinsey, fueled by AI amid the expansion of the traditional cloud, the power requirements of U.S. data centers are projected to more than double from 17 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to 35 GW by 2030. But Rabb's article emphasizes how such an awareness of the data center power crunch wasn't always the case, in the days before last year's industry-wide generative AI inflection point, as ushered in by ChatGPT. 正如Rabb所报道的那样，主要数据中心市场的公用事业公司对过去三年该行业需求的爆炸式增长感到完全惊讶，正如微软产品创新经理Yue Tu在Bisnow活动中所引用的那样： And as reported by Rabb, utilities in major data center markets were taken completely by surprise by the explosion of demand from the sector over the past three years, as related by Microsoft's Yue Tu, Product Innovation Manager, as quoted at the Bisnow event: “每个公用事业公司都是同样的故事：他们预测需求增长非常平稳，甚至可能在未来十年由于能源效率而出现小幅下降。我记得在2018年与一位公用事业公司高管坐在一起，询问他们是否准备好迎接未来五年10亿瓦的新需求。他不认为我是认真的。” “Every utility was the same story: they were projecting very flat demand growth and maybe even some small decreases over the next decade due to energy efficiency. I remember sitting down with a utility executive in 2018 and asking if they were ready for one gigawatt of new demand coming in the next five years. He didn’t think I was serious.” 正如DCF的Rich米勒在他最近的2024年数据中心趋势预测中进一步解释的那样： As DCF's Rich Miller further explained in his recent 2024 data center trends forecast: “公用事业公司正在努力升级传输网络，以支持数据中心对电力的需求激增。世邦魏理仕表示，由于电力供应延迟，数据中心建设完成时间表已延长24至72个月。 'Utilities are struggling to upgrade transmission networks to support the surging requirement for electricity to power data centers. CBRE says data center construction completion timelines have been extended by 24 to 72 months due to power supply delays [...] “我们不能再仅仅依赖电网了，”数字桥首席执行官马克·甘兹告诉彭博市场。“我们必须能够把事情掌握在自己手中，保护我们的供应链，并为我们的客户提供服务。如果你没有在低成本的可再生能源附近建立数据中心，你就不会与超大规模企业和云计算企业进行富有成效的对话。” “We can’t rely on just the grid anymore,” Digital Bridge CEO Marc Ganzi told Bloomberg Markets. “We’ve got to be able to take things into our own hands, protect our supply chain, and deliver for our customers [...] If you’re not building data centers adjacent to low-cost renewable power, you’re not going to have a fruitful conversation with the hyperscalers and cloud players. ” 因此，随着整个行业的电力危机没有结束的场景，现在进入了过去几周的两个新闻公告，这再次证明了微软，特别是在超大规模企业中，致力于支持未来数据中心的发电不是也不会是一个“非此即彼”的主张，而是“以上所有”。 So with the scene thus set of an industry-wide power crisis with no end in sight, now enters a pair of news announcements over just the past couple of weeks which again demonstrate how Microsoft, especially among hyperscalers, is committed to the idea that power generation to support future data centers isn't and won't be an 'either/or' proposition -- but rather, 'all of the above.' 许多云计算巨头可能都致力于这种精神，但微软在很短的时间内迅速采取了行动。 Lots of cloud giants are probably committed to that ethos -- but Microsoft has quickly moved in on it, within a very short timeframe.
用于数据中心电池备份目的的氢能的任何切实发展都会激发我们的兴趣，但最近有消息称，使用氢燃料电池技术作为备用电源的可行性进一步证明，这次是在怀俄明州夏延的一个Microsoft数据中心，也引起了人们的注意，只是因为柴油发电机的中坚力量卡特彼勒担任项目负责人，他最近在 2021 年帮助将生态柴油燃料倒入Microsoft的发电机中，用于其在瑞典的云计算区域。 Any tangible developement in hydrogen power for data center battery backup purposes perks our interest, but recent news of the further demonstrated viability of using hydrogen fuel cell technology for backup power, this time at a Microsoft data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, also raised eyebrows just for featuring diesel generator stalwart Caterpillar as project lead, who was seen as recently as 2021 helping to pour eco-diesel fuel into Microsoft's generators for its cloud region in Sweden. 这些报告强调了卡特彼勒如何“理解”“无处不在”的比喻，以规定数据中心电源的困境。因此，当卡特彼勒于 1 月 19 日宣布与 Microsoft 和巴拉德动力系统成功合作，展示成功使用大型氢燃料电池技术为数据中心提供可靠和可持续的备用电源时，这并不绝对令人惊讶。 Such reports emphasize how Caterpillar also 'gets it' regarding the 'Everything Everywhere' trope for prescribing data center power quandaries. So it came as no absolute surprise when on January 19, Caterpillar announced its successful collaboration with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems to demonstrate the successful use of large-format hydrogen fuel cell technology to supply reliable and sustainable backup power for data centers. 卡特彼勒在冰冷的怀俄明州领导了该项目，“在充满挑战的环境中进行”，提供整体系统集成、电力电子和微电网控制，这些构成了氢动力解决方案的核心结构。 Caterpillar led the project in icy Wyoming as 'conducted in a challenging environment,' providing the overall system integration, power electronics, and microgrid controls that form the central structure of the hydrogen power solution. “与 Microsoft 和巴拉德的成功合作展示了氢燃料电池在帮助数据中心满足其关键电力需求同时减少排放方面的潜力，”卡特彼勒电力高级副总裁 Jaime Mineart 说。 'This successful collaboration with Microsoft and Ballard demonstrates the potential of hydrogen fuel cells to help data centers address their critical power needs while reducing their emissions,' said Jaime Mineart, senior vice president of Caterpillar Electric Power. 该项目模拟了Microsoft位于夏延的数据中心的 48 小时备用电源事件，其中氢燃料电池被集成到数据中心发电厂中以支持其关键负载。 The project simulated a 48-hour backup power event at Microsoft's data center in Cheyenne, where a hydrogen fuel cell was integrated into a data center electrical plant to support its critical load. 该演示验证了氢燃料电池动力系统在海拔 6,086 英尺（1,855 米）和冰点以下条件下的性能。合作伙伴表示，该演示为燃料电池系统为多兆瓦数据中心供电的能力提供了宝贵的见解，确保不间断供电以满足 99.999% 可用性的正常运行时间要求。 The demonstration validated the hydrogen fuel cell power system's performance at 6,086 ft (1,855 m) above sea level and in below-freezing conditions. The partners said the demonstration provided valuable insights into the capabilities of fuel cell systems to power multi-megawatt data centers, ensuring an uninterrupted power supply to meet 99.999% uptime requirements. 在演示中，卡特彼勒微电网控制器用于操作该公司的两个 Cat® 电网稳定（PGS）1260 电池储能系统以及 1.5 MW 氢燃料电池。对于Microsoft来说，在氢气数据中心电力领域的这种发挥当然是很好的基础，他们早在 2022 年就成功测试了使用氢燃料电池的 3 兆瓦发电机，证明该技术可以在数据中心规模上工作。 In the demonstration, a Caterpillar Microgrid Controller was used to operate two of the company's Cat® Power Grid Stabilization (PGS) 1260 battery energy storage systems, along with the 1.5 MW hydrogen fuel cell.Such play in the arena of hydrogen for data center power is of course well-trod ground for Microsoft, who as far back as 2022 successfully tested a 3-megawatt generator using hydrogen fuel cells, proving that the technology can work at data center scale. 由Plug Power为Microsoft开发的3兆瓦氢燃料电池，正在取代Microsoft数据中心的柴油发电机，当时被DCF誉为Microsoft一系列“大胆创新计划”研发项目中的最新项目，旨在重新思考可持续数据中心的未来。随着卡特彼勒的宣布，Microsoft数据中心氢气项目的乐观情绪变得更加切实和扎实。 That 3-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell, developed for Microsoft by Plug Power, and on course to replace diesel generators in Microsoft data centers, was at the time heralded by DCF as the latest in a series of Microsoft “moonshot” R&D projects designed to rethink the future of sustainable data centers. With the Caterpillar announcement, the Microsoft data center hydrogen project's optimism becomes that much more tangible and grounded. “该项目的成功为超大规模提供商提供了一个机会，可以推动发电技术可持续性的创新，”Microsoft数据中心研究高级总监Sean James说。“氢燃料电池示范的研究和结果将帮助我们实现到2030年实现负碳的目标。” 'This project's success provides an opportunity for hyperscale providers to drive innovations in the sustainability of power generation technologies,' said Sean James, Senior Director of Data Center Research at Microsoft. 'The research and findings of the hydrogen fuel cell demonstration will help us towards our goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030.' 该项目由美国能源部氢能和燃料电池技术办公室 （DOE） 根据 H2@Scale 倡议提供支持和部分资助，该倡议将利益相关者聚集在一起，以推进多个能源部门负担得起的氢气生产、运输、储存和利用。 The project is supported and partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (DOE) under the H2@Scale initiative, which brings stakeholders together to advance affordable hydrogen production, transport, storage and utilization in multiple energy sectors. DCF 的 David Chernicoff 最近也报道了美国能源部最近的绿色氢气计划。在卡特彼勒和巴拉德在夏延Microsoft数据中心的演示期间，美国能源部的国家可再生能源实验室 （NREL） 分析了安全、技术经济和温室气体 （GHG） 影响。巴拉德动力系统首席商务官 David Mucciacciaro 表示：“我们认为此次演示的完成是巴拉德燃料电池在为数据中心提供零排放备用电源方面的可靠性和耐用性的重要证明。“我们很高兴我们的产品能够满足这个快速增长的行业中数据中心客户的关键电力需求。” DCF's David Chernicoff also recently reported DOE's recent green hydrogen initiatives. During the demonstration by Caterpillar and Ballard at Microsoft's data center in Cheyenne, the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) analyzed safety, techno-economics, and greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts.'We see the completion of this demonstration as an important proof point of the reliability and durability of Ballard's fuel cells in providing zero-emission backup power for data centers,' said David Mucciacciaro, Chief Commercial Officer of Ballard Power Systems. 'We are excited about the ability of our products to meet the critical power needs of data center customers in this rapidly growing sector.'
卡特彼勒的宣布只是Microsoft为创建更环保的数据中心而进行的研发创新全景中的另一个引人注目的场景。至少从2020年开始，这些项目包括： The Caterpillar announcement is just another compelling scene in the panorama of Microsoft's volume of R&D innovation to create greener data centers. Starting from at least 2020, these projects have included:
微软的水下数据中心项目Natick推动了云计算的边界，并发现密封氮气环境中的服务器比传统数据中心中的服务器更可靠。 Microsoft’s underwater data center Project Natick, which pushed the boundaries of where the cloud could live, and also found that servers housed in a sealed nitrogen environment were substantially more reliable than those in traditional data centers. 在联邦政府的小型模块化反应堆（SMR）核旗手NuScale从收集数据中心客户到收集诉讼通知的一年后，（由于交易失败，以及一个臭名昭著的卖空者对股价的诋毁），微软现在已经纠正了SMR和微型反应堆的状态（可以这么说），聘请了一对关键人员来领导其数据中心核能开发工作。 After a year in which the federal government's small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear standard-bearer NuScale crashed down from gathering data center clients to gathering notices for lawsuits (due to failed deals and as blowback from a notorious short-seller stock-price assassination write-up), Microsoft has now righted the SMR and microreactor ship of state (so to speak) with a pair of key hirings to lead its data center nuclear energy development efforts. 当微软去年秋天宣布它正在为其SMR计划聘请一位领导者时，许多密切的行业观察人士将其评估为数据中心核能发电股份的转折点。因此，该公司选择Archie Manoharan作为其新的核技术总监的消息带有一种辩护的感觉，甚至是完成，因为它紧随微软去年12月任命Erin亨德森领导其核开发加速工作之后，Manoharan将与之一起工作。 When Microsoft announced last fall that it was looking to hire a leader for its SMR program, many close industry watchers assessed it as a tipping point for data center nuclear power generation stakes. So word of the company's selection of Archie Manoharan as its new Director of Nuclear Technologies came with a sense of vindication, and even completion, following as it did on the heels of Microsoft's December appointment of Erin Henderson to lead its nuclear development acceleration efforts, whom Manoharan will work alongside. 在加入微软之前，Mahoharan是微型模块化反应堆开发商Ultra Safe Nuclear（USNC）的核战略和项目总监。在那里，她管理着长期核战略计划和USNC微型模块化反应堆（MMR）部署的关键利益相关者伙伴关系。她还负责管理战略伙伴关系的关键利益相关者沟通，以及与USNC目标一致的正式协议，以追求雄心勃勃的绿色能源解决方案，并管理UNSC能源部（DOE）贷款计划申请工作。 Prior to Microsoft, Mahoharan was Director of Nuclear Strategy and Programs for startup Ultra Safe Nuclear (USNC), a developer of micro modular reactors. There she managed long-range nuclear strategic plans and key stakeholder partnerships for USNC Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) deployments. She also managed key stakeholder communications for strategic partnerships, and formal agreements consistent with USNC objectives in pursuit of ambitious green energy solutions, and managed UNSC's Department of Energy (DOE) loan program application efforts. Erin亨德森于12月加入微软，担任核开发加速总监。她是能源领域的资深人士，在田纳西河流域管理局任职13年后来到微软，最近担任传输项目总经理。 Erin Henderson joined Microsoft in December as Director of Nuclear Development Acceleration. She is energy sector veteran who comes to Microsoft after thirteen years of tenure at the Tennessee Valley Authority, where she most recently served as general manager of transmission projects. 翻译： 杨永江 北京英沣特能源技术有限公司 暖通工程师 DKV（DeepKnowledge Volunteer）计划成员 校对： 江秋健 广东浩云长盛网络股份有限公司 解决方案部高级经理 DKV（DeepKnowledge Volunteer）计划精英成员 公众号声明： |
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