Chinese Grid Operators Cite Forecast Risks in Renewable Push for Data Centers

Chinese grid operators have expressed concerns that government plans to increase the share of renewable electricity used by data centers could create reliability risks for power companies. The operators said peak demand at AI facilities is difficult to forecast and that data centers cannot easily adjust consumption once equipment is running.

Shanpeng, a director at State Power Investment Corporation, told attendees at a recent Beijing conference that data centers have limited ability to vary power loads. "From what we understand, they (data centers) cannot really adjust power consumption load much," Pei said. He added that GPU operators seek maximum utilization once hardware is purchased.

China recently launched the 24-megawatt Shanghai Lingang undersea data center, which uses offshore wind power and seawater cooling. The project was developed by HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction.