2025-12-04 米国国立再生可能エネルギー研究所（NREL）
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.nrel.gov/news/detail/program/2025/nlr-analysis-identifies-reservoir-thermal-energy-storage-as-a-solution-for-data-center-cooling-needs
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261925005884
データセンター冷却システム用貯留層熱エネルギー貯蔵の技術経済的パフォーマンス Techno-economic performance of reservoir thermal energy storage for data center cooling system
Hyunjun Oh, Wencheng Jin, Peng Peng, Jeffrey A. Winick, David Sickinger, Dale Sartor, Yingqi Zhang, Koenraad Beckers, Kevin Kitz, Diana Acero-Allard, Trevor A. Atkinson, Patrick Dobson
Applied Energy Available online: 11 April 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125858
Graphical abstract
Highlights
- The RTES reliably supplies a 5 MW data center cooling load over the 20-year lifetime.
- The coefficient of performance of the RTES is 16.5 during the summer peak.
- The levelized cost of cooling of the RTES system is $5/MWh.
- The RTES significantly saves electricity consumption and costs (78 % and 83 %, respectively), compared to the base case.
- 78 % of annual CO2 emissions are avoided with the RTES compared to the base case.
Abstract
Electronic equipment in data centers generates heat during operation, which should be dissipated through a cooling system to prevent overheating and maintain optimal performance. Electricity consumption for the data center cooling system becomes significant as the demand for data-intensive services increases. Although various technologies have been developed and integrated into the data center cooling system, there are limited high-efficiency alternatives for data center cooling. In this study, we designed a reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) system that stores cooling energy during winters and produces it during summers for data center cooling. We then demonstrated the techno-economic performance of the RTES incorporated with dry coolers and heat recovery for a year-round 5 MW cooling load. The RTES cooling production was reliable during the 20-year lifetime. We estimated the levelized cost of cooling as $5/MWh, significantly lower than $15/MWh for the base scenario where chillers and dry coolers supply the same cooling load without the RTES. We also estimated that the RTES-based cooling system annually avoids CO2 emissions up to 1488 tCO2e compared to the base case. These results highlight techno-economic feasibility and environmental benefits of the RTES and its potential to be deployed for various applications at large scales as well as for data center cooling.
