THE DATA CENTRE INTERVIEW
As the data centre footprint expands globally, regions will need to rely on a combination of both technologies to keep up with demand.
Instead of focusing solely on traditional tech hubs like the US, Gerhard points to India as a prime example of this shifting strategy.
India plans to build vast amounts of solar infrastructure and use HVDC lines to transport that clean energy straight into high-demand regions and data centres.
By integrating these solutions, future projects can achieve the best of both worlds.“ You have then both,” Gerhard says.“ You have the transport over long distances with best optimised low losses and also the power electronics to filter out disturbances. So that is what these grid-enhancing technologies are.”
The power of interconnection and storage Achieving a constant, around-theclock power supply for data centres using renewable energy is one of the industry’ s biggest hurdles. Because wind and solar power are naturally intermittent, grid operators must find a way to bridge the gap when the sun sets or the wind stops blowing.
According to Gerhard, solving this puzzle relies on two main pillars: complementary energy sources and flexibility. Instead of relying on a single clean energy source, grids must combine multiple types – like solar, wind and hydro – that naturally balance each other out over time.“ The wider the area, the more complementary your sources, the better you can balance changes out,” Gerhard notes. The second pillar of this strategy is modern energy storage, which introduces a level of flexibility that traditional fossil fuels couldn’ t achieve.
While fossil fuels acted as a one-way storage system that could only be depleted, modern grids use batteries and pumped hydro systems that can be filled and emptied as needed.
Gerhard explains that this flexibility is what keeps the grid stable:“ The security part of the triangle is securing the supply at any point in time, which is done by the flexibility, which helps you to secure at any point in time that demand and supply are fitting each other.”
This approach completely solves the energy triangle by uniting grid security, environmental sustainability and costefficiency. Because wind and solar are currently the most cost-effective power generation technologies available, integrating them effectively lowers costs across the board.
Ultimately, the key to unlocking this potential is larger, interconnected power grids. By linking different regions together, operators can share excess power across vast distances.
Gerhard points out that if you connect the varying energy profiles of major nations like the UK, France and Germany through strong interconnections,“ you gain a lot of efficiency and a lot of cost-effectiveness”.
He argues that a similar, untapped opportunity exists to build a much more interconnected transmission system across North America.
30 August 2026