The development of data centers globally, an opportunity for Romania to become a key player in the region

The development of data centers on a global level represents a great opportunity for Romania to become a key player in the region and a main actor in the process of stabilizing energy networks and achieving the goals of using green energy, according to Eaton specialists, a intelligent energy management company, according to Agerpres.

In their opinion, with the help of modern energy management solutions, Romania has a huge growth potential in this segment.

“By definition, data centers have a significant role in the digital economy, but they are also recognized for their high energy consumption. The global trend is of exponential growth in energy demand for data centers, which will double by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The increase comes against the background of the accelerated development of Artificial Intelligence, which comes with a lot of benefits, but also with a considerably higher consumption. For example, a single AI query consumes ten times more energy than a standard Google search,” they say.

In Romania, the evolution of data centers has been accelerated in recent years by the growth of digital needs, and the use of AI adds a new dimension to this equation. The demand for cloud services, data storage and processing has grown significantly, causing the development of new data centers, especially in large cities such as Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. However, the intensive use of AI technologies involves enormous energy consumption, given the fact that training and running AI models requires massive processing capabilities.

Data centers in Romania have registered a significant increase in energy consumption in recent years, reflecting the expansion of the digital sector and the growing needs of data processing, including in the field of AI. An important example is ClusterPower from Craiova, which is the largest data center in Southeast Europe and has its own energy source, using a trigeneration plant with a capacity of 200 MW.

“In the context of considerable growth of the entire sector, it is important that the demand for electricity is met by renewable energy generation and not by carbon-intensive fossil fuels. While some regions have made impressive progress in implementing renewable energy, others lag behind, creating disparities that undermine global sustainability goals. Even the new mandatory objective established by the Energy Directive of the European Union to ensure that at least 42.5% of energy comes from renewable sources fails to address the rapidly growing energy requirements of the digital age”, says Gabriel Tache, general manager of Eaton Romania .

With the exponential development of the use of AI and the expansion of data centers in Romania, their protection becomes essential to ensure the continuity of critical operations. In addition to the growing need for energy, the reliability of the energy infrastructure is crucial. In this context, the use of UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems is necessary to protect data centers against power outages or voltage fluctuations that could affect extremely sensitive equipment and computing processes.

But UPSs are more than an essential component for ensuring continuous power, preventing data loss, downtime or hardware damage. Modern UPS type solutions have become elements that meet the needs of energy efficiency and reduction of operational costs. Modern data centers in Romania are starting to integrate technologies such as energyAware, offered by Eaton, which optimizes energy consumption depending on the demand and supply in the network, the release says.

“energyAware technology allows data centers to become more flexible in energy management, dynamically adjusting consumption and reducing the impact on the national energy grid. This is particularly important in the context where the demand for energy in the IT sector continues to grow, and the current infrastructure needs optimization to meet these requirements. For example, data centers in countries such as Ireland and the Netherlands are putting pressure on local networks, leading to restrictions on new developments and causing them to migrate to greener locations. Nordic countries, such as Iceland, Sweden and Finland, thus become attractive destinations for sustainable data center operations due to access to abundant renewable energy and favorable climatic conditions,” the quoted source added.

Although they are major consumers of energy, data centers have the potential to support the energy transition and go green. They can help stabilize the grid through innovative technologies such as demand response and battery energy storage systems (BESS). The data center industry is increasingly investing in green energy through renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs), which help decarbonize the grid by financing a significant share of carbon-free energy. This commitment to renewable energy is crucial because data centers can lead a broader transition to clean energy, experts point out.

“Government intervention is essential in addressing these challenges. Policymakers need to create an environment that encourages the rapid adoption of green energy and supports grid modernization. This includes investing in infrastructure upgrades, providing incentives for sustainable on-site energy generation and developing policies to facilitate the integration of renewable energy into the grid,” they add.

Eaton is an intelligent energy management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. Founded in 1911, Eaton has been listed on the NYSE for nearly a century. In 2021, the company had revenues of $19.6 billion, with customers in over 170 countries.

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