Aligned Data Center in Phoenix will have APS microgrid

• APS is building backup generators at a data center that it can call upon if demand warrants
• The utility and data center are sharing the cost of the infrastructure
• APS has a similar microgrid project in Yuma

A $600 million data center in north Phoenix will test out new microgrid technology in a partnership with Arizona Public Service Co.

The Aligned Data Center at Interstate 17 and Union Hills Road is taking over a former Honeywell facility, and APS is building both a new substation to serve the power needs and 63 megawatts of diesel generators on the building itself.

One megawatt of power capacity is enough to supply the needs of about 250 homes at once, while the generator is running.

APS and Aligned will share the costs of the generators, which will be used as backup power for the data center but also can be called upon by APS to support the grid if there is a disturbance in the power supply.

"It is a great opportunity with great benefit to (Aligned) and to the state of Arizona from an economic development perspective, and to customers as a whole by giving us localized generation resources," said Scott Bordenkircher, APS director of technology innovation.

"We will own, operate and maintain everything on those generators," he said. "We can remote start them for other grid purposes."

The utility is still negotiating the breakdown of costs for the generators with Aligned.

"They are paying a portion, and we are paying a portion," he said. "We have rights to run that generation for the benefit of the local grid."

The power could be useful for APS to improve the power quality in the region or to help prevent outages if there is a disturbance.

The substation being built to supply the center is being paid for upfront by Aligned, though APS would not disclose the cost. Such infrastructure is generally paid for by the utility customers needing them, who are repaid through bill credits as they consume power over years of service.

"Effectively they end up getting their money back as they use it," Bordenkircher said. "It renders harmless the other, nonparticipating customers."

APS has a similar microgrid project expected to go live in August at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma that is smaller at 25 megawatts of capacity.

Like the Aligned generators, the Yuma generators will be programmed to switch on remotely to ensure power quality on the grid if there is a disturbance and to ensure the military base can continue running through such a disturbance.

APS is testing the microgrid projects but officials hope to one day offer them to more large developments.

"We look at it as a potential economic development tool," Bordenkircher said. "It is something unique we can offer."

Salt River Project also has been developing new programs to help attract data centers to its utility territory. The centers are considered good utility customers because they use lots of electricity and generally have predictable power demands that run on a set schedule.

In 2014, SRP announced a partnership with IO Data Centers, which runs a facility off the Loop 202 in east Phoenix, and an affiliate company called Baselayer. The companies are running modular data centers.

IO Data Center wants alternative to APS power

Aligned officials said the new project in north Phoenix will save clients money compared with other data centers thanks to a "pay-as-you-go model" where data customers only pay for what they consume. That prevents them from wasting money on unused data capacity, said Jason Ferrara, chief marketing officer for Aligned Data Centers.

The model should also help the center and its customers conserve water and power, both major expenses for data centers, Ferrara said.

The center will save water by using a cooling system developed by an affiliate of Aligned Data Centers also owned by Aligned Energy called Inertech. Instead of using water-cooling systems to transfer the heat generated by thousands of computer servers out of the data center, the system uses a refrigerant-based system, using about 85 percent less water, Ferrara said.

The system also allows the center to operate without the standard raised floor common in other data centers.

Aligned opened a data center in Texas last year and has plans for Chicago, Virginia and New Jersey centers in the next two years, Ferarra said.

The facility is scheduled to open in fall but could speed that up.

"We have a tremendous amount of interest from a number of large clients, which could accelerate that schedule," Ferrara said.

Aligned also will offer the option for clients to offset the power they use in the center with clean, renewable energy purchased through APS.

"That's a big thing today with people wanting to feel like they are getting power from clean sources," he said.