Читать книгу Maintaining Mission Critical Systems in a 24/7 Environment - Peter M. Curtis - Страница 67

Looking to the future, global work on fusion reactors has demonstrated that future power generation should be DC. For long‐distance distribution, High Voltage DC systems are less expensive and suffer lower electrical losses. High‐temperature superconductors promise to revolutionize power distribution by providing near‐lossless transmission of electrical power. The development of superconductors with transition temperatures higher than the boiling point of liquid nitrogen has made the concept of superconducting power lines commercially feasible, at least for high‐load applications. It has been estimated that the waste would be halved using this method since the necessary refrigeration equipment would consume about half the power saved by the elimination of the majority of resistive losses. Some companies, such as Consolidated Edison and American Superconductor, here in the United States, have already begun commercial production of such systems. Many people are unaware that superconductors are already being used commercially to construct the ultra‐strong magnets used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.

All the advantages and benefits of the DC alternative are yet to be proven over time. The industry must continue the dialogue and take steps to ensure the concept is thoroughly vetted. Small‐scale demonstrations are a good first step. Pentadyne, a leader in flywheel energy storage, assembled the first bench test at their Chatsworth, CA headquarters in 2005. An industry group sponsored by the California Energy Commission through Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and headed by EPRI Solutions and Ecos Consulting is planning more demonstrations of data center applications. Commercial proof‐of‐concept demonstrations are also being conducted in Sweden and Japan.

While retrofitting existing facilities for DC may not be cost‐effective in the near term, the DC alternative should be thoroughly investigated when designing a new data center. The increase in efficiency and the associated reduction in operating costs will be the primary driving force behind a DC revolution. And the fact that DC promises higher tier ratings with lower capital costs makes improved reliability another big attraction. As with any change that upsets the status quo, the conversion to DC will no doubt meet with opposition, but the benefits seem too irresistible to pass up.