The Data Center Frontier Show

Hyperscale LED Lighting Approach A Pathfinder for All Data Centers

For this episode of the DCF Show podcast, Data Center Frontier spoke with Sam Rabinowitz, CEO of Lantana, a supplier and provider of LED luminaires for the data center industry -- especially for hyperscalers, but also for energy-efficiency retrofits in mature facilities.
Key discussion points include the following:
0:15 - Lantana broke into the data center industry by working with a hyperscaler customer to design and implement rapid deployment prototypes for their initial data center builds on the interior structure, including lighting.
3:14 - Lantana's LED fixtures run cool and are energy-efficient, achieving up to 90% efficiency over nearly a decade of use. The LED lighting fixtures are UL certified for elevated ambient operating temperatures, providing operational flexibility for data centers in hot environments.
5:45 - Sam explains how Lantana's focus on energy-efficiency and materials efficiency can lead to cost savings and a positive impact on the environment.
13:26 - Sam emphasizes the importance of a "micro to macro" approach in greening data, starting with individual components, and scaling up to entire campuses and programs.
15:46 - Data Center Frontier Editor in Chief Matt Vincent asks for takes regarding the impact of AI on the data center industry. In response, Sam discusses the need for new products and approaches to designing and engineering data centers to accommodate for chip-level heat.
19:32 - Matt asks about Lantana's plans for 2024. In response, Sam describes Lantana's new products as being tailored for digital infrastructure and expansion of the hyperscalers, as well as furnishing renovations for increased energy efficiency in data centers of all sizes.
26:46 - Sam emphasizes the importance of lighting in data centers for safety and functionality, and the discussion compares it to cabling as a core, fundamental element of every data center.
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The 8 Themes That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2024, Part 2

This month on the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, we read down site founder and Editor at Large Rich Miller's annual data center industry trends forecast. 
Since our industry coverage at DCF throughout the year will frequently refer back to this forecast, we've decided to enumerate all eight themes throughout several podcast episodes this month. 
Today's read looks at how pricing for AI capacity will probably only continue to trend higher, and how data center supply chain relationships will matter more than ever in 2024. We also examine how more momentum for modular data centers' prefabricated IT ethos should take hold in the coming year.
"Artificial intelligence is hot," writes Miller. "So hot that the AI boom is creating a resource-constrained world, driving stupendous demand for GPUs, data centers and AI expertise. All three are likely to be in short supply, but none so much as wholesale data center space. This is the trend that dominates our annual forecast."
For this episode, we read down the article's themes 3 through 5:
3.  Pricing for AI Capacity Will Continue Higher4.  Supply Chain: Relationships Matter More Than Ever5.  More Momentum for Modular
Read the full forecast: The Eight Themes That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2024

The 8 Themes That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2024, Part 1

Data Center Frontier's founder and Editor at Large Rich Miller has delivered his annual article containing his top data center industry forecasts, predictions and insights for the year ahead. 
Of chief concern is how the AI boom will ripple through the digital infrastructure sector in 2024, impacting the availability of data center space, the supply chain, and factors of pricing, cooling, power and design.
Since our industry coverage at DCF throughout the year will frequently refer back to this forecast, we've decided to enumerate all 8 themes throughout several podcast episodes this month. 
For this episode, we read down the article's first two themes:
1. The AI Boom Creates a Data Center Space Crunch2. Rethinking Power on Every Level 
Read the full forecast at Data Center Frontier: The Eight Themes That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2024

Microreactor vs. SMR vs. Diesel Power Generation Pros and Cons for Data Centers with Nano Nuclear Energy

For this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, DCF's editors sat down with James Walker, BEng, MSc, CEng, PEng, CEO and board member of Nano Nuclear Energy Inc., and Jay Jiang Yu, Nano Nuclear Energy's founder, executive chairman and president, for a discussion regarding industry news and technology updates surrounding small modular reactor (SMR) and microreactor nuclear onsite power generation systems for data centers.
James Walker is a nuclear physicist and was the project lead and manager for constructing the new Rolls-Royce Nuclear Chemical Plant; he was the UK Subject Matter Expert for the UK Nuclear Material Recovery Capabilities, and was the technical project manager for constructing the UK reactor core manufacturing facilities. Walker has extensive experience in engineering and project management, particularly within nuclear engineering, mining engineering, mechanical engineering, construction, manufacturing, engineering design, infrastructure, and safety management. He has executive experience in several public companies, as well as acquiring and re-developing the only fluorspar mine in the U.S.
Jay Jiang Yu is a serial entrepreneur and has over 16 years of capital markets experience on Wall Street. He is a private investor in a multitude of companies and has advised a magnitude of private and public company executives with corporate advisory services such as capital funding, mergers and acquisitions, structured financing, IPO listings, and other business development services. He is a self-taught and private self-investor whose relentless passion for international business has helped him develop key, strategic and valuable relationships throughout the world. Yu leads the corporate structuring, capital financings, executive level recruitment, governmental relationships and international brand growth of Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. Previously, he worked as an analyst as part of the Corporate & Investment Banking Division at Deutsche Bank in New York City.
Here's a timeline of key points discussed during the podcast:
0:22 - Nano Nuclear Energy Expert Introductions1:38 - Topic Set-up Re: DCF Senior Editor David Chernicoff's recent data center microreactor and SMR explorations.1:59 - How microreactors might impact the data center industry. (Can time-to-market hurdles be shrunk?)2:20 - Chernicoff begins the interview with James and Jay. How the NuScale project difficulties in the SMR segment resulted in the DoD pulling back on preliminary microreactor contracts in Alaska due to market uncertainties directly related to NuScale. 3:23 - Perspectives on NuScale and nuclear power.4:21 - James Walker on NuScale vs. microreactor prospects: 
"They have a very good technology. They're still the only licensed company out there, and they probably will bounce back from this. It's not good optics when people are expecting product to come out of the market. And NuScale was to be the first, but market conditions and the structure of SPACs and the lack of us infrastructure can all complicate what they want to do. Half the reason for them taking so long is because the infrastructure was not in place to support what they wanted to do. 
But even hypothetically, even if the SMR market, as an example, was to collapse, microreactors are really targeting a very different area of market. SMRs are looking to power cities and big things like that. Microreactors, you're looking at mine sites, charging stations, free vehicles, disaster relief areas, military bases, remote habitation, where they principally fund all their energy using diesel. It's kind of hitting a different market. So even if the SMR market goes away, there's still a huge, tremendous upside, potential untapped market in the microreactor space."
5:39 - DCF Editor in Chief Matt Vincent asks, "What's the pros and cons of the prospects for microreactors versus what we're commonly thinking about in terms of SMR for data centers?"
5:51 - Nano Nuclear's James Walker responds: 
"I would start with the advantages of microreactors over SMR. It's smaller, it'll be cheaper, it'll be safer, it'll be more deployable, you'll have far more economies of scale of producing hundreds of these things. They're easier to decommission, remove, they're easier to take apart. 
I mean, logistically, shipping these things around the world as if they were diesel generators is a very feasible prospect. Opex cost will be far lower. Personnel that need to be involved in the day to day physical operation will be negligible. 
Where the disadvantage of a microreactor is, is that SMRs would provide a cheaper form of electricity. But as SMRs are providing for cities, microreactors are more for remote locations, remote industrial projects, remote data centers, those kind of things. 
You're really competing with sort of the high costs of remote diesel. 
As an example, we were speaking with some Canadian government officials and they were saying [with] some of their remote habitations, they can have a community of 800 people, but it still costs $10 million US in fuel alone, ignoring all of the logistical costs of bringing that fuel in on a daily basis, just to power those remote communities that have no possibility of being hooked up to a grid because it's too far. 
And that would be the same for all sorts of things, like if you want a remote data center, remote or mining operations, remote industrial projects, oil and gas things, then microreactors aren't really competing with SMRs on cost."
7:33 - Data Center Frontier's David Chernicoff asks:
"We're a data center publication, so that obviously is a lot of interest to us, and you pointed out how diesel is the primary methodology for backup power for data centers. 
I realize no one has actually shipped a microreactor yet in this form factor. But one of the advantages, for example, that comes from Project PELE from the US DoD was the decision to standardize on Tristructural Isotropic (TRISO) fuel so that for anybody building one, now, the whole issue of building infrastructure to provide the fuel is significantly simplified. 
Realistically (and obviously we're asking you to make a projection here, but), when you're able to deliver microreactors at any sort of scale, will they be competitive with diesel generators in the data center space? And I would also allow for you to say, well, diesel generators also have to deal with all the emissions issues, environmental concerns, greenhouse gases, et cetera, that are not issues with a containerized nuclear power plant. So will there be a realistic model there?"
8:45 - James Walker compares the financing costs of diesel generators vs. microreactors.
9:28 - Walker offers this forecast:
"With competing with diesel generators, once the infrastructure [for nuclear] is built back up, and you have deconversion facilities and enrichment facilities able to produce High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel, and companies are able to source this stuff very readily, the capital costs come down markedly. And that'll be the same for people like NuScale. Then there'll be an optimization period, typically, I would expect over an eight-year period of launch. So, say microreactors launch in 2030, nearing 2040, I believe the cost will be competitive with diesel by that point. Because the optimization will kick in, the infrastructure will all be in place. And the economies of scale over which these things are being produced means that, yes, you'll essentially have a nuclear battery that can compete with diesel, that can give you 15 years of clean energy, at a cheaper rate. That's what the projections show currently."
10:31 - Discussion point clarifying that nuclear microreactors for battery backup are being positioned for replacement of diesel generation, as distinct from SMR power plant options.
12:00 - Walker explains how the power range of microreactors can vary. SMRs will give you 100 MW of power for enormous data centers and AI, but microreactors allow for data centers to be sited anywhere. If more power for a larger facility is needed, multiple microreactors can serve into the microgrid at the location.
12:50 - Nano Nuclear's Jay Jiang Yu notes, "We've been contacted by Bitcoin mining companies as well, because they want to actually power their data centers in cold environments like Alaska. We've been contacted many times, actually, and there is like a trending topic on 'Bitcoin nuclear.'" 
13:28 - Regarding microreactors' being employed in conjunction with microgrids, DCF's Chernicoff asks:
"Do you see this being eventually being sort of a package deal -- not just for data centers (obviously data centers will be a big consumer of this) -- but for deployable microgrids where you have battery power, microreactors providing primary power sources, integrating the microgrid with the local utility grids to allow for providing power back to the grid in times of need, pull power from the grid when it's cheap, that kind of whole microgrid active partner model?"
14:19 - Walker holds forth on nuclear investment stakes, and where microreactor and microgrid technology fits in.
16:16 - On the compactness of microreactors, occupying less than an acre.
17:33 - Asking again about the US DoD's Project PELE, how microreactors were instrumental, and what the project's implications might be for data centers.
18:14 - Walker explains how Project PELE was a microreactor program developed by the  US DoD to create a 1.5 megawatt electric microactor to serve the US military in wider capacity in remote areas such as Iraq or Afghanistan forced to rely entirely on diesel power generation. 
Walker adds, "Project PELE, even though it began as a military thing, is probably going to have enormous benefits for the wider microreactor market, because there's a lot of development work that can go into fees and inform commercial and civil designs."
19:58 - DCF's Chernicoff notes:
"I presume that one of the biggest factors that PELE brought was the standardization for the fuel, the transportability, the applications people were considering with it, and the form factor. Can I stick it into 40 foot containers and get it to my site? Once you standardize on those things, prices start to come down, and that's going to be a big part of making this acceptable to the data center industry, to replace diesel generators or to build microgrids around."
20:31 - More from Nano Nuclear's Walker on how and why the ultimate aim of microreactors is to replace diesel generators.
21:20 - DCF's Vincent asks the Nano Nuclear experts whether, beyond bitcoin mining data centers, they've fielded much interest from standard data center operators? 
21:25 - In response, Walker says:
"There's been some big ones. Like Microsoft, as an example, were incredibly interested in powering a lot of their remote data centers with nuclear, and so they've even put out funding opportunities to this effect. But on the smaller front, we've seen Chat GPT talk about powering their centers with nuclear in the future ... It opens up the potential for enormous amounts of expansion. It can reduce a lot of costs, especially capital costs of the startup, and I think that's the big draw here."
22:25 - DCF's Chernicoff asks, "Obviously, if I can plunk a microreactor down in the middle of my data center campus, I don't have to worry about transmitting power through the campus. Are there cost advantages in this? Is it something that the big power providers are looking at as a way to basically build a more distributed power grid?"
23:11 - Walker explains how a large mining company Nano Nuclear worked with did just that, and how use of nuclear energy can work to eliminate energy storage and transmission costs.
24:41 - Addressing nuclear NIMBY issues and PR concerns for builders of data centers.
25:40 - On the inherent safety of microreactors.
27:51 - Down to brass tacks on timeframes for microreactors and SMRs. DCF's Chernicoff asks, What are the obstacles to seeing them deployed within the next decade?
29:20 - On the work of Idaho National Labs in nuclear reactors.
31:03 - Taking it back to current events in closing: On NuScale's travails in 2023, Microsoft's SMR job posting raising hopes for a nuclear energy tipping point in the data center industry, etc.
 

Natron Energy’s Sodium-Ion Battery Technology for Data Centers

For this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, we sit down with Brian Kennedy, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Natron Energy.
As recounted by Kennedy in the course of our talk, Colin Wessells founded Natron Energy as a Stanford PhD student in 2012. His vision in building the company, which started in a garage in Palo Alto, was to deliver ultra-safe, high-power batteries. 
As stated on the company's website, "After countless hours of development with an ever expanding team of scientists and engineers, Natron now operates a state of the art pilot production line for sodium-ion batteries in Santa Clara, California."
The company notes that most industrial power utilizes decades-old, more environmentally hazardous battery technology such as lead-acid and lithium-ion. 
In contract, Natron says its "revolutionary sodium-ion battery leverages Prussian Blue electrode materials to deliver a high power, high cycle life, completely fire-safe battery solution without toxic materials, rare earth elements, or conflict minerals."
In 2020, Natron became the world’s first sodium-ion battery to achieve a UL 1973 listing for its battery product, and commercial shipments to customers in the data center, forklift, and EV fast-charging markets soon began. 
Natron notes that its technology leverages standard, existing li-ion manufacturing techniques, allowing the company to scale quickly. With U.S. and Western-based supply chain and factory agreements in place, Natron says it saw its manufacturing capacity increase 200x in 2022. 
In the course of the podcast discussion, Natron's Kennedy provides an update on Natron's data center industry doings this year and into next year. Here's a timeline of key points discussed:
:29 - 7x24 Fall Conference Memories:51 - Teeing Up Sodium Ion1:18 - Talking Pros and Cons, Sustainability2:15 - Handing It Over to Brian2:30 - Background on Natron Energy and founder/CEO Colin Wessells2:55 - Background on Sodium Ion Technology3:11 - Perfecting a New Sodium Ion Chemistry and Manufacturing with 34 International Patents In Play3:28 - The Prominent Feature of Sodium-Ion Technology Is Its Inherent Safety; Eliminates Risk of Thermal Runaway3:51 - U.S. Government ARPA-E Advanced Technology Grants Have Been Pivotal Funding for Natron4:13 - Sodium Ion Battery Technology Comparison and Value Proposition5:28 - How Often Is A Data Centers Battery Punctured? Ever Seen a Forklift Driven Through One?6:10 - On The Science of the Natron Cell's Extremely High Power Density, Fast Discharge and Recharge6:55 - Comparing Sodium-Ion to Most of the Lithium Chemistries7:25 - The Meaning of UL Tests8:00 - Natron Has Published Unredacted UL Test Results8:35 - On the Longevity of Sodium Ion Batteries9:51 - "There's No Maintenance Involved."10:18 - Natron Blue Rack: Applications10:52 - How Natron Is In the Process of Launching Three Standard Battery Cabinets11:20 - Performance Enhancements Will Take Standard Data Center Cabinets "Well North" of 250 kW11:45 - Though Data Centers are Its Largest Market, Natron Also Serves the Oil and Gas Peak Load Shaving and Industrial Spaces 12:21 - Sustainability Advantages12:51 - ESG Is About More Than Just Direct Emissions13:15 - The Importance of Considering the Sourcing and Mining of Battery Elements14:09 - "That Fact That You May Be Pushing [Certain] Atrocities Up the Supply Chain Where You Can't See Them, Doesn't Make It OK"14:34 - Notes On Supply Chain Security with Secure, U.S.-Based Manufacturing15:45 - Wrapping Up: Global UPS Manufacturer Selects Natron Battery Cabinet; Looking Ahead to 2024.
Here are links to some related DCF articles:
Will Battery Storage Solutions Replace Generators?New NFPA Battery Standard Could Impact Data Center UPS DesignsMicrosoft Taps UPS Batteries to Help Add Wind Power to Ireland’s GridData Center of the Future: Equinix Test-Drives New Power, Cooling SolutionsCorscale Will Use Nickel-Zinc Batteries in New Data Center Campus

Reimagining Data Center design by breaking down the challenges of AI

In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, Matt Vincent, Editor-in-Chief of Data Center Frontier, and Steven Carlini, Vice President of Innovation and Data Centers for Schneider Electric, break down the challenges of AI for each physical infrastructure category including power, cooling, racks, and software management.

Operationalizing Renewables in the Data Center

For this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, DCF's Editor in Chief Matt Vincent chats with Brian Green, EVP Operations, Engineering and Project Management, for EdgeConneX. The discussion touches on data center operations, sustainable implementations/deployments, renewable power strategies, and ways to operationalize renewables in the data center.
Under Brian’s leadership, the EdgeConneX Houston data center completed a year-long project measuring the viability of 24/7 carbon-free energy utilizing AI-enabled technology. With this approach, EdgeConneX ensured the data center is powered with 100% renewable electricity, and proved that even if the power grid operates on fossil-fueled electricity generation, real-time hourly increments can be applied to new and existing data centers.
As a result, for every given hour, EdgeConneX and its customers can operate throughout the year without emitting any CO2 with zero reliance on fossil standby generation during dark or cloudy periods. This innovative program will be duplicated at other EdgeConneX facilities globally.
Another real-world example discussed is related to a facility where the local community complained about the noise of the fans. Brian's team worked to improve the noise level by changing fan speeds, and as a result, the data center and the local community realized multiple benefits, including enhanced community relations by removing the noise disturbance, increased efficiencies, and reducing amount of power used, a big cost-saver for the data center.
Along the way, Brian explains how he, along with EdgeConneX team, are big believers in the company's motto: Together, we can innovate for good.

Data Center Frontier’s Rich Miller Returns For a Visit

For this special episode of the DCF Show podcast, Data Center Frontier's founder and present Editor at Large, Rich Miller, returns for a visit. Tune in to hear Rich engage with the site's daily editors, Matt Vincent and David Chernicoff, in a discussion covering a range of current data center industry news and views.
Topics include: Dominion Energy's transmission line expansion in Virginia; Aligned Data Centers' market exit in Maryland over a rejected plan for backup diesel generators; an update on issues surrounding Virginia's proposed Prince William Digital Gateway project; Rich's take on the recent Flexential/Cloudflare outages in Hillsboro, Oregon; and more.
Here's a timeline of key points discussed on the podcast:
:10 - For those concerned that the inmates might be running the asylum, the doctor is now in: Rich discusses his latest beat as DCF Editor at Large.
1:30 -  We look at the power situation in No. Virginia as explained by one of Rich's latest articles, vis a vis what's going to be required to support growth already in the pipeline, in the form of contracts that Dominion Energy has for power. "Of course, the big issue there is transmission lines," adds Miller. "That's the real constraint on data center power delivery right now. You can build local lines and even substations much more quickly than you can transmission at the regional level. That's really where the bottlenecks are right now."
3:00 - Senior Editor David Chernicoff asks for Rich's take on Aligned Data Centers' recent market exit in Maryland, related to its rejected plan for backup diesel generators. "Is this really going to be the future of how large-scale data center projects are going to have to be approached, with more focus put on dealing with permission to build?" wonders Chernicoff, adding, "And are we going to see a more structured data center lobbying effort on the local level beyond what, say, the DCC [Data Center Coalition] currently does?"
5:19 - In the course of his reponse, Rich says he thinks we'll see just about every data center company realizing the importance of doing their research on the full range of permissions required to build these megascale campuses, which are only getting bigger.
6:12 - Rich adds that he thinks the situation in Maryland illustrates how it's important for data center developers to step back for a strategic discussion regarding depth of planning. "The first thing to know," he points out, "is that Maryand was eager to have the data center industry. They specifically passed incentives that would make them more competitive with Virginia. They saw that Northern Virginia was getting super crowded...and they thought, we've got lots of resources up here in Frederick County, let's see if we can bring some of these folks across the river. And based on that, the Quantum Loophole team found this site."
8:20 - Rich goes on to note how "the key element for a lot of data centers is fiber, and a key component, both strategically and from an investment perspective [in Maryland] is that Quantum Loophole needed to have a connection to the Northern Virginia data center cluster in Ashburn, in Data Center Alley - which is not that far as the crow flies, but to get fiber there, they wound up boring a tunnel underneath the Potomac River, an expensive and time-consuming project that they're in the late stages of now. That's a big investment, and all that was done with the expectation that Maryland wanted data centers."
10:26 - Rich summarizes how the final ruling for Aligned in Maryland "was, effectively, that you can have up to 70 MW but beyond that, you have to follow this other process [where] you're more like a power plant than a data center with backup energy." He adds, "I think one of the issues was [in determining], will all of this capacity ever be turned on all at once? Obviously with diesel generators, that's a lot of emissions. So the air quality boards are wrestling with, on the one hand, having a large company that wants to bring in a lot of investment, a lot of jobs; the flip side is, it's a lot of diesel at a time when we're starting to see the growing effects of climate change, and everybody's trying to think about how we deal with fossil fuel generation. The bottom line is, Aligned pulled out and said, this is just not working. The Governor of Maryland, understanding the issues at stake and the amount of investment that has already been brought there, says that he is working with the legislature to try to 'create some regulatory predictability' for the data center industry. Because it used to be that 70 MW was a lot of capacity, but with the way the industry is going right now, that's not so much."
12:06 - In response to David's reiterated question as to whether the data center industry will now increasingly have to rethink it's whole approach to permitting prior to starting construction, Rich notes, "There's a lot of factors that go into site selection, you're looking at land, fiber, power. The regulatory environment around it, whether there's going to be local resistance, has also become part of the conversation, and rightfully so. One of the things that's definitely going to happen is that data centers have to think hard about their impact on the communities where they're locating, and try to develop sensible policies about how they, for lack of a better term, can be good neighbors, and fit into the communities where they're operating."
14:20 - Taking the discussion back across state lines, Editor in Chief Matt Vincent asks for an update on Rich's thoughts surrounding contentious plans by QTS and Compass Datacenters for a proposed new campus development, dubbed the Prince William Digital Gateway, near a Civil War historic site in Prince William County, Virginia. "This is one of the most unique proposals in the history of the data center industry," explains Miller. "It would be the largest data center project ever proposed. And of course, it's become an enormous political hot potato. It's the first time where we've really seen data centers on the ballot in local elections."
20:41 - After hearing some analysis of the business and political angles in Prince William County, Vincent asks whether Miller thinks the PW Digital Gateway project's future is in doubt, or if it's just that we don't know what's going to happen?
22:50 - Vincent asks Miller for his take on the recent data center outage affecting Flexential and Cloudflare, as written up for DCF by Chernicoff, particularly in the area of incident reports and their usefulness. In the course of responding to a follow-on point by David, Rich says, "I think the question for both levels of providers is, are you delivering on your promises, and what do you need to do to ensure that you can? Let's face it, stuff breaks, stuff happens. The data center industry, I think, is fascinating because people really think about failure modes and what happens, and customers need to do the same."
32:14 - To conclude, Vincent asks for Miller's thoughts on the AI implications of Microsoft's cloud-based supercomputer, running Nvidia H100 GPUs, ranking third on the world's top 500 supercomputers list, as highlighed at the recently ongoing SC23 show in Denver.
Here are links to some related DCF articles:
-- Dominion: Virginia’s Data Center Cluster Could Double in Size-- Dominion Resumes New Connections, But Loudoun Faces Lengthy Power Constraints-- DCF Show: Data Center Diesel Backup Generators In the News-- Cloudflare Outage: There’s Plenty Of Blame To Go Around-- Microsoft Unveils Custom-Designed Data Center AI Chips, Racks and Liquid Cooling

Data Centers, AI & Creative Destruction

Ten years into the fourth industrial revolution, we now live in a “datacentered” world where data has become the currency of both business and personal value. In fact, the value proposition for every Fortune 500 company involves data. And now, seemingly out of nowhere, artificial intelligence has come along and is looking to be one of the most disruptive changes to digital infrastructure that we’ve ever seen.In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, Matt Vincent, Editor-in-Chief of Data Center Frontier, talks to Sean Farney, Vice President for Data Center Strategy for JLL Americas, about how AI will impact data centers.

DCF Show: Traversing the Data Center Power Market with Legend Energy Advisors

The Legend Energy Advisors (Legend EA) vision of energy usage is one in which all companies have real-time visibility into related processes and factors such as equipment efficiency, labor intensity, and consumption of power and other energy resources across their operations.
During this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, the company's CEO and founder, Dan Crosby, and his associate, Ralph Rodriguez, RCDD, discussed the Legend Analytics platform, which offers commodity risk assessment infrastructure services, and real-time metering for energy usage and efficiency.
The firm contends that only through such "total transparency" will their clients be able to "radically impact" energy and resource consumption intensity at every stage of their businesses.
"My background was in construction and energy brokerage for a number of years before founding Legend," said Crosby. "The basis of it was helping customers understand how they're using energy, and how to use it better so that they can actually interact with markets more proactively and intelligently."
"That helps reduce your carbon footprint in the process," he added. "Our mantra is: it doesn't matter whether you're trying to save money or save the environment, you're going to do both of those things through efficiency -- which will also let you navigate markets more efficiently."
Legend EA's technology empowers the firm's clients to integrate all interrelated energy components of their businesses, while enabling clear, coherent communication across them.
This process drives transparency and accountability on “both sides of the meter,” as reckoned by the company, the better to eliminate physical and financial waste.
As stated on the firm's website, "This transparency drives change from the bottom up, enabling legitimate and demonstrable changes in enterprises’ environmental and financial sustainability."
Legend Analytics is offered as a software as a service (SaaS) platform, with consulting services tailored to the needs of individual customers, who include industrial firms and data center operators, in navigating the power market.
Additionally, the Ledge device, a network interface card (NIC), was recently introduced by Legend EA as a way to securely gather energy consumption data from any system in an organization and bring it to the cloud in real-time.
Here's a timeline of key points discussed on the podcast:
1:15 - Crosby details the three interconnected parts of his firm's service: commodity risk assessment, infrastructure services, and the Legend Analytics platform for understanding energy usage and efficiency.
2:39 - Crosby explains how the Legend Analytics platform works in the case of data center customers, by providing capabilities such as real-time metering at various levels of a facility, as well as automated carbon reporting.
4:46 - The discussion unpacks how the platform is offered as a SaaS, and includes consulting services tailored to each customer's needs.
7:49 - Notes on how the Legend Analytics platform can gather data from disparate systems and consolidate it into one dashboard, allowing for AI analysis and identification of previously unknown issues.
10:25 - Crosby reviews the importance of accurate and real-time emissions tracking for ESG reporting, and provides examples of how the Legend Analytics platform has helped identify errors and save costs for clients.
12:23 - Crosby explains how the company's new, proprietary NIC device, dubbed the Ledge, can securely gather data from any system and bring it to their cloud in real time, lowering costs and improving efficiency.
23:54 - Crosby touches on issues including challenges with power availability; trends in building fiber to power; utilizing power capacity from industrial plants; and on-site generation for enabling stable voltage.
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