Grid & Infrastructure · AI Data Centre Power
Power for AI data centres, from grid connection to commissioning
AI data centres need a great deal of power – and they need it by a fixed date. In practice it is often not the computing hardware that sets the schedule but the grid connection. We handle the application to the network operator at medium and high voltage, coordinate subcontractors and trades, and commission the installation together with the network operator.
What we take on
Grid connection and applications
Grid connection request to the distribution or transmission system operator (DNO/TSO), agreement on connection point, voltage level, capacity and schedule, documents and certificates under the German technical connection rules VDE-AR-N 4110 (medium voltage) and VDE-AR-N 4120 (high voltage).
Substation and transformation
Coordination of the point-of-connection or transformer substation, transformers, medium-voltage switchgear and protection and secondary systems with design engineers and the network operator; review of documents before ordering.
Project coordination
One point of contact for the network operator, design engineers, subcontractors and trades: schedule, interfaces between high, medium and low voltage, fixed inspection steps and documentation that holds up at acceptance.
Commissioning
Testing including protection testing, energisation with the network operator, test and acceptance records and an orderly handover to data centre operations.
Experience from substations and offshore grid connections
Our Managing Director comes from commissioning: more than 20 years in wind energy onshore and offshore, at 66 kV and 220 kV substations, and most recently for 50Hertz Offshore GmbH in quality assurance of the secondary systems of an offshore grid connection. We bring this way of working to every project: test, document, and only then energise.
Switching authorisation for medium-voltage installations, with assignments in Germany and abroad; switching is always carried out within the plant operator’s own authorisation framework.
Offshore grid connection · Baltic Sea
Gennaker and Ostwind 3 offshore substations
Two offshore substation platforms for the Gennaker wind farm in the German Baltic Sea and 50Hertz’s Ostwind 3 grid connection project: involvement in installation and commissioning, focusing on secondary systems and quality assurance.
Most recently for 50Hertz
On behalf of 50Hertz Offshore GmbH: quality assurance of the secondary systems in a substation of an offshore grid connection – cabinet and terminal inspections, punch lists and test records in line with the transmission system operator’s safety and compliance rules.
Commissioning onshore and offshore
More than 20 years of commissioning and quality assurance in wind energy, including projects for the transmission system operators (TSOs) 50Hertz and TenneT, in international teams.
66 kV and 220 kV
Project experience at 66 kV and 220 kV substations, including the complete protection and secondary systems.
Battery storage, UPS and load peaks
In practice, the load of AI clusters fluctuates strongly, for example when training runs start or pause. Battery storage can smooth such swings at the grid connection point, complement the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and relieve a tight grid connection. Whether a battery pays off, and at what size, depends on the load profile and the network operator’s conditions; we calculate it with your data. More on medium-voltage battery storage and peak shaving.
Note: these are practical experience values, not legal requirements. What applies to your project is determined by the network operator and the design.
The framework in Germany
- Right to a grid connection – network operators must connect final consumers on reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent terms (Section 17(1) of the German Energy Industry Act, EnWG). When, and with what capacity, is settled in the connection procedure.
- Technical connection rules – VDE-AR-N 4110 for medium voltage and VDE-AR-N 4120 for high voltage, supplemented by the respective network operator’s technical connection conditions.
- Energy Efficiency Act – in Germany, data centres are additionally subject to the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG), including requirements on energy efficiency and waste heat recovery.
How a connection project runs
01
Demand and site
Capacity, expansion phases, site and schedule determine the voltage level and a possible connection point.
02
Connection request
Application to the responsible network operator with the documents it requires, followed through to the connection offer.
03
Design and contracting
Coordination with design engineers, review of the technical documents, award of work to subcontractors and trades.
04
Construction
Coordination on site, fixed inspection steps, documentation from day one.
05
Commissioning
Testing, energisation with the network operator, records and handover to operations.
Grid connection for other projects, too
We carry out the same work – applications, coordination and commissioning – for batteries, PV systems and charging parks as well: Grid connection & project coordination
Planning a data centre or need more power on site? Let’s spend 15 minutes on grid connection and schedule.