Abstract Data centres (DCs) are expected to satisfy the rising demand for internet services. Denmark alone is expected to host several large-scale DCs, whose demand for electricity in 2040 may reach 33% of 2017 national electricity consumption. Understanding the operation and interactions of DCs with energy systems is key to understanding their impacts on installed capacities, costs and emissions. The present paper makes three contributions in this regard. First, we introduce a thermodynamic model that relates the power consumption of DCs to their production of excess heat (EH). Second, the results are scaled up to represent DCs in a national energy-system model for the analysis of different scenarios. Third, scenarios are generated and analysed to quantify the impact of DCs on the Danish energy system until 2050. The results show that DCs might have significant impacts on Denmark’s power and district heating (DH) sectors. First, the power demand from DCs translates into an additional 3–6 GW of offshore wind capacity. Second, EH from DCs is beneficial to the whole energy system, the entire quantity of EH being utilized in four out of five scenarios. EH recovery from DCs is economically beneficial, providing from 4% to 27% of Denmark’s DH after 2040.

中文翻译：

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数据中心在未来丹麦能源系统中的作用

摘要 数据中心 (DC) 有望满足对互联网服务不断增长的需求。预计仅丹麦就有几个大型 DC，其 2040 年的电力需求可能达到 2017 年全国电力消耗的 33%。了解 DC 与能源系统的运行和相互作用是了解其对装机容量、成本和排放影响的关键。本文在这方面做出了三点贡献。首先，我们引入了一个热力学模型，该模型将 DC 的功耗与其产生的多余热量 (EH) 联系起来。其次，将结果放大以代表国家能源系统模型中的 DC，用于分析不同的情景。第三，生成和分析场景以量化 DC 对丹麦能源系统的影响，直到 2050 年。结果表明，DC 可能对丹麦的电力和区域供热 (DH) 部门产生重大影响。首先，来自 DC 的电力需求转化为额外的 3-6 GW 海上风电容量。其次，来自 DC 的 EH 有利于整个能源系统，EH 的全部数量在五个场景中的四个中被利用。从 DC 中回收 EH 在经济上是有益的，在 2040 年后提供丹麦 DH 的 4% 到 27%。