Optimizing Energy Management in Microgrids with Datacenters: An Integrated Approach

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Microgrids are localized grids that have become an integral component of future smart grids. Meanwhile, datacenters have been expanding enormously to support the exploding digital economy worldwide, emerging as significant energy consumers that are commonly co-located with a diverse set of non-datacenter loads in microgrids. Nonetheless, prior research on datacenter energy management, although encouraging, has traditionally viewed datacenters as isolated stand-alone facilities and rarely considered their physical interconnection with other loads. On the other hand, the rich literature on microgrid energy management has primarily focused on non-datacenter loads (e.g., thermostatically controlled loads), while treating energy-intensive datacenters as miscellaneous loads and ignoring their unique global-routing capabilities. This lack of integration and coordination between datacenter and non-datacenter loads poses a series of challenges to microgrid management, such as high peak demand, waste of on-site renewables, and even potential threats to the stability of main grids. This project seeks to address the challenges and optimize microgrid energy management for minimizing the energy cost and facilitating demand responses to better protect the main grid. Towards this end, this project takes a transformative shift from the current view that treats datacenter and non-datacenter loads separately, to an integrated approach that holistically coordinates both datacenter and non-datacenter loads in microgrids. Specifically, this project investigates two complementary research thrusts. First, when the microgrid operator can directly schedule the loads, this project investigates novel control algorithms to holistically manage both datacenter and non-datacenter loads, while taking into account datacenters spatial-routing and heterogeneous communications capabilities. Second, when the loads are managed by self-interested entities, this project studies market mechanisms to coordinate both datacenter and non-datacenter loads for microgrid-level efficiency.This project advances the existing research on microgrid energy management by transforming datacenters' role in microgrids from miscellaneous loads into a valuable asset with high scheduling flexibilities. It can catalyze a shift in the way that microgrids evolve, bearing great economic, environmental and societal impacts. This project will also incorporate the research into existing courses and provide abundant opportunities to nurture and attract students, especially those from under-represented groups, to engage in research careers.