Axia Energia has approved a new investment of R$ 20 million to integrate its concentrated solar power plant (heliothermal) with a data center in Petrolina (PE). The objective is to evaluate how technology can contribute to reducing energy consumption for cooling servers and data processing equipment.
The pilot plant uses mirrors to concentrate solar radiation onto a central tower, simultaneously generating electricity and heat. While the electricity can be used normally, the heat is harnessed to power an absorption cooling system capable of producing chilled water for air conditioning in industrial facilities and data centers.
According to the company, the proposal seeks to leverage one of the biggest energy demands of data centers: cooling. This is because, with the growth of AI (artificial intelligence), cloud computing, and data processing, energy consumption for cooling is becoming increasingly important in the operation of these structures.
In total, the plant has an installed capacity of 1 MW of electricity generation and 2,2 MW of thermal energy. Since its implementation, the project has received more than R$ 74 million in investments, of which approximately R$ 68 million came from resources from the Research and Development Program of [Company Name]. ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency).
In addition to studying applications for data centers, the company is evaluating the technology's potential to compete, in the future, with battery storage systems and even thermal power plants in applications that require flexibility and energy dispatch.
According to Axia Energia, the plant can store thermal energy for up to three days and dispatch power for up to 17 consecutive hours, a feature considered strategic for an electrical system with a growing share of renewable sources.
The company also develops other projects focused on integrating renewable energy generation, storage, and data centers. In Bahia, for example, it operates a hybrid plant that combines solar and wind power, batteries, and a data center dedicated to bitcoin mining, with the goal of increasing operational flexibility and reducing losses associated with transmission restrictions and generation outages.
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