Batteries are now replacing diesel generators, and Microsoft has made the switch official. Microsoft has replaced a data center’s diesel-powered backup with a large scale battery energy storage system (BESS) issued by Saft, a TotalEnergies subsidiary.
This is an important step towards removing fossil fuel backup systems from hyper scale infrastructure.
Upon delivery in June, the new unit provided 16 MWh of storage capacity which would sustain critical systems for 80 minutes at peak loads of 24 MW. This is the same amount of power that would have previously been supplied by Diesel generators.
When Microsoft launched its Sweden Central region in late 2021, the backup power at its Gävle, Sandviken, and Staffanstorp sites still relied on diesel generators which bought some activists attention. Microsoft tried to soften the blow by switching some of that diesel to Preem Evolution Diesel Plus, a fuel with at least 50% renewable content, but it was still diesel.
This comes after ongoing concern from environmentalists and local government in Sweden where use of diesel fuels is considered both socially irresponsible and environmentally harmful.
In 2021, Microsoft pledged to eliminate all diesel consumption by 2030.