Modular data center solutions with integrated onsite power generation

The digital world is expanding, with AI, cloud computing, and hyperscale services driving the rapidly growing demand for data center services. Meeting the substantial electricity demand of data centers presents a major challenge, as grid bottlenecks, rising costs, and environmental concerns pose significant obstacles.

The joint initiative offers a competitive and future-proof solution: an industry-first integrated, on-site power generation system paired with modular data center construction. This approach enables data centers to go live faster, reducing deployment timelines by up to two years. The power plant design incorporates redundancy, eliminating the need for backup diesel generators and reducing CO₂ emissions by about 50 percent.

This solution offers investment flexibility and increased ROI by providing a dedicated power supply designed for future upgrades. It adapts to shifts in power density following rack exchanges and employs modular combinations to meet strategic needs, ensuring a future-proof infrastructure.

The modular data center solutions address key strategic priorities:

• No dependency on external power: Highly available, flexible, and efficient distributed power generation with gas turbines provides more freedom to choose data center location without relying on external power sources.
• Fast track power to data center: Concurrent construction of the data center and onsite power generation shortens project times, accelerating revenue by 2–4 years compared to grid connection.
• Modularized & expandable design: Integrated modular designs allow for fast installation and expansion, providing scalability to meet growing data center demands.
• Operational flexibility: The combined power system for data centers includes base load, backup, and storage solutions, offering critical grid services and benefits, including unconditional dispatchable power.
• “Pay as you grow” revenue: This approach enables 100% on-site power generation with grid connection later. It supports white space and campus growth as needed, increasing CapEx efficiency. As the campus and ancillary services grow, revenue increases, allowing capacity expansion regardless of grid availability.
• Ready for decarbonization: Utilization of advanced power generation technologies, such as green fuel-ready gas turbines and battery energy storage systems, enables the use of available natural gas initially, with a switch to green fuels later, eliminating the need for diesel engines and reducing emissions.

Siemens Energy and Eaton’s turnkey, globally deployable modular data center solution empowers owners and operators to bring capacity online quickly and sustainably anywhere in the world.

Watch the following interview with Andreas Pistauer (Siemens Energy) and Cyrille Brisson (Eaton) to learn more about this powerful collaboration and how it will benefit data center clients.