The End of Power Outages?

Data centers may become backup for the grid.

Large data centers need power backup to operate without interruption. They rely on enormous banks of lithium-ion batteries to provide instantaneous power when the standard power supplied by the local grid fails. Those lithium-ion batteries could soon help local power grids manage energy demand.

MORE: Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be Free | Private Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go | Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm Partnership The FinTech Flood: Accounting Will Never Be the Same | Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | Your Sales Tax Headaches Are Only Just Beginning | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt | Can Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves? | Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson | Turning Client Service into New Revenue

Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Any city or region that gets its power from renewables is subject to the whim of the weather. Unlike fossil-based energy, renewable energy sources ebb and flow. These grids’ battery systems provide power when the renewable sources ebb and recharge when they flow.

Microsoft realized it could partner with local power grids where its data centers are located worldwide and offer to store that renewable power in their battery backup systems. Today, sophisticated data centers operate with what are known as “uninterruptible power supply systems.” These systems include a bank of batteries that kick in the instant the power goes out and may operate for only a few minutes until the backup generators are up and running.

Posted on August 9, 2022

Rick Richardson

About the Author

Rick Richardson, CPA.CITP, CGMA, is the CEO and founder of Richardson Media & Technologies and editor and publisher of Technology This Week, regularly featured at CPA Trendlines under special arrangement.

See more by Rick Richardson

Technology This Week provides an easy to read digest of the technology that tax and accounting practitioners need to know to better serve their clients. Professionals rely on Richardson to tell them in a timely and informative manner what’s new in technology and how it will impact their business and personal lives. Subscribers also have access to the entire library of prior issues with an easy-to-use search.

With all of the news sources available today, it's next to impossible to keep up with what's new in the world of technology. Technology This Week is a 20-minute read designed for an average reader rather than the technologist. Richardson had a 28-year career in technology with Ernst & Young, the last twelve years of which he served as National Director of Technology. He has been named to the "Technology 100" – the annual honors list of the 100 key achievers in technology in America. He has also been honored by the American Institute of CPAs with two lifetime achievement awards for his contributions to the profession in the field of technology. In 2012, Rick was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. He has also been named to the 100 most influential individuals in the accounting profession in America by Accounting Today magazine. He is a sought-after speaker around the world, providing his annual forecast of future technology trends to thousands of business executives, professionals, community leaders, educators, and students.

Click here for more by Rick Richardson

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Continue reading your article with a CPA Trendlines Pro membership.