The rise of artificial intelligence has led to skyrocketing demand for data centers. While global data center capacity is projected to grow 15% per year, this won't be sufficient to meet the expected need for power.

This means data center developers will need to work faster than ever to get facilities up and running. To do this, they need access to power, fast.

“The pursuit of data centers is, at its core, a pursuit for power,” said Jake Ring, president and co-founder at transformer and high voltage circuit breaker provider Power and Data Management. “Data center developers are now building their own substations to access that power faster, and we’re helping them do it.”

Ring said the key to delivering large amounts of power efficiently is high-voltage circuit breakers, which protect high-voltage transmission lines that carry power over long distances. For utility companies, building a new substation with these circuit breakers and transformers, which are very large pieces of equipment, can take years, which is time that data center developers facing growing demand don’t have. PDM, however, can provide developers with the high-voltage circuit breakers they need in just six months and transformers in nine weeks.

These breakers aren't just needed for data center speed to market. They also play a large role in keeping the power grid stable and keeping things running.

In many states, the summer heat brings an unwelcome consequence: power outages. While this may be a minor inconvenience for some, it can be catastrophic for data center owners that can lose millions for every minute a center is down.

Circuit breakers and transformers that protect the electricity flow and manage the distribution to data centers are evolving in response to this demand. There is now an increase in interrupt ratings — the level of power a breaker can reach before it will trip. As a result, the grid has been forced to adjust by adding more breakers.

“High-voltage circuit breakers play a crucial role in protecting the infrastructure that delivers bulk power to energy-intensive facilities like data centers,” Ring said. “But it can take utility companies five years to deliver them to the developers who need them now. We can close that gap.”

Ring said the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is trying to stabilize the grid so that when summer is at its peak and wires start to sag and overheat, the power won't be interrupted. As a result, it is increasing the voltage level to support downstream applications, stabilize the grid and make sure there is always power available. This also requires more high-voltage circuit breakers to be delivered faster, which PDM can provide.

Increased demand for power has led to roughly 130 gigawatts of new power generation going into Texas, Ring said. This additional generation of power leads to more distribution and a greater need for protection.

“I have a circuit breaker in my basement that provides power for my single-family home,” he said. “If I start building multiple stories and turn my house into our apartment building, I would need breakers at every point of distribution to provide power into each room and floor. As we build more data centers, the same concept applies, but on a massive scale.”

Ring estimated there will be demand for at least 100 breakers per year for at least the next five years in Texas alone. This is why companies like PDM, which produce high-voltage circuit breakers in a fraction of the time it takes other providers, will become key to maintaining reliable power.

He added that most breakers have sulfur hexafluoride, or SF6, inside, which is an inert gas used as an insulating and arc-quenching medium. However, it is also a greenhouse gas, and while the amount of SF6 inside each breaker is minimal, with the number of breakers predicted to skyrocket across the country over the next few years, it can make a major environmental impact. In response, PDM is working with its manufacturer to put a cleaner inert gas into its breakers to mitigate this issue.

“We’re looking toward the future,” Ring said. “There’s going to be a staggering need for high-voltage circuit breakers, and we want to ensure that developers and utility companies have fast access to the cleanest available power they need.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Power and Data Management and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.