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Collaboration enables grid-interactive use of BESS and other on-site energy assets to improve speed-to-power, resilience, and asset productivity in grid-constrained markets.
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) and CPower Energy have announced a new collaboration to help data centers in the United States accelerate speed-to-power and improve grid capacity by turning battery energy storage systems (BESS) and other behind-the-meter energy assets into grid resources.
Vertiv has integrated its Vertiv ™ EnergyCore Grid BESS with CPower’s VPP platform to help data centers use behind-the-meter storage and other energy assets for demand response and other grid services, while improving facility resilience, supporting interconnection strategies, and increasing the economic value of installed infrastructure.
As a first step in the collaboration, Vertiv worked with CPower to monetize a 1 MW microgrid – combining BESS, solar, hydrogen fuel cell and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems – at Vertiv’s Customer Experience Center in Ohio. The project enabled Vertiv to generate demand response revenue, secure on-bill savings and support PJM, the largest grid operator in North America. The program helped Vertiv offset capital expenses by optimizing the performance of the microgrid’s BESS across capacity, economic and ancillary services programs.
CPower enables demand response participation based on customers’ business objectives and operational constraints, including in data center hotspots such as Illinois, Ohio, Texas and Virginia, as well as for commercial and industrial sites across the country. CPower has paid more than $1.4 billion to demand response customers and partners since 2015.
“With global data center power usage estimated to more than double between 2025 and 2030 and the bring your own power model in early adoption, data centers are signaling a clear willingness to leverage distributed generation and on-premise batteries to accelerate a path to unlock grid capacity today,” said Glenn Bogarde, chief sales and marketing officer, CPower. “We are focused on flexibility levers that are a reality for our customers, especially as new energy technologies and incentives become more pervasive across the United States.”
“As data centers increase in power and grid interconnections become harder to secure, UPS and BESS solutions are evolving beyond a backup solution, emerging as a critical enabler for data centers. When intelligently integrated into the facility and utility grid, along with flexible energy resources and controllable loads such as HVAC systems, on-site storage facilitates interconnection and can become a revenue-generating asset that improves return on investment,” said Chris Thompson, vice president, advanced technology and global microgrids at Vertiv.
More information about the Vertiv ™ EnergyCore Grid BESS
More information about CPower’s VPP platform