RALEIGH, N.C. — Power management company Eaton recently announced that its collaboration with Microsoft to transform essential data center backup solutions into value-generating assets has been awarded the 2018 DCD Global Award for Mission Critical Innovation by Datacenter Dynamics. Presented in London on December 6, 2018, the award recognized Microsoft and Eaton for a demonstration project at the Microsoft test facility in Boydton, Virginia, with results that hold significant implications for the future of the power generation industry.
“At Eaton we’re constantly looking for opportunities to leverage our intelligent power solutions in a way that provides greater value for our customers,” said Katheron Garcia, Eaton. “In this case, working in close collaboration with Microsoft, we set out to answer the question: what if an uninterruptible power system (UPS) could generate value for the data center when there isn’t a power outage?”
The Eaton and Microsoft team working in Boydton created a demonstration in which they added enhanced capabilities to an Eaton UPS to serve as a distributed energy resource (DER) for grid operators, engineering the UPS specifically to enable communication with the power grid. Serving in this role, the UPS can charge and discharge energy from the grid, aiding in frequency regulation initiatives and creating an additional revenue stream for operators.
Though still in its infancy, the technology carries potentially game-changing implications for the data center industry. Leveraging their UPS as DER, data centers go from power users to power providers, lowering their overall energy costs while offsetting carbon emissions from their energy usage.
“The results of our demonstration were incredibly promising and it’s exciting to see this innovation recognized by the judges at the DCD Global Awards,” said Garcia. “We congratulate Microsoft on their award victory and look forward to our continued collaboration as we advance this technology.”
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