Not Just AI Datacenters Needing Own Power: Taiwanese Server-maker Quanta Has Bought Microgrids

It's not just datacenters running AI that need their own energy sources. Taiwanese hardware manufacturer to the clouds Quanta has revealed the purchase of three sets of fuel cell microgrid systems to power one of its California plants, after purchasing two in April of this year.

Quanta this week revealed it bought the fuel cells at a cost of just under $80 million, after buying others in April for around $50 million.

At the time, Bloom Energy – the vendor of the kit Quanta acquired – touted the purchase as necessary after a local utility company indicated it would take several years before it could provide the necessary electricity for a planned manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.

"By leveraging Bloom Energy's innovative and modular microgrid solution, Quanta is circumventing the lengthy delays and conditions associated with traditional utility constraints to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-paced Silicon Valley market," explained a canned statement.

"This project not only addresses Quanta's immediate energy needs but also exemplifies a broader trend across the technology industry: as AI-driven applications proliferate, demand for electricity-intensive computing resources continues to surge," added Bloom Energy.

Fuel cell microgrids, like those produced by Bloom Energy, generate electricity through an electrochemical process and are designed to operate independently from the power grid. They require natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen as fuel.

Quanta's announcement didn't detail what it has acquired, but Bloom Energy's microgrid systems can range from 200kW to 20MW.

Bloom's Series 10 offering, which includes a 10MW fuel cell microgrid, is priced from 9.9 cents per kWh.

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Datacenter operators across the world have voiced concern over their ability to source sufficient power for their operations – especially new infrastructure using power-hungry GPUs to run AI workloads.

Many are turning to nuclear power. Indeed, Microsoft recently made a deal to reactivate a reactor at the famed Three Mile Island plant to get the juice it needs. ®