Scale Microgrids, which builds microgrids and community energy systems, is moving into the data center development business with the acquisition of Reload, a developer of data centers.
Reload sites, designs and permits gigawatt-scale datacenter campuses paired with powerparks. As part of its Reload acquisition — for an undisclosed amount — Scale said it signed a contract to provide a multi-hundred-megawatt on-site energy system for a leading hyperscale customer.
More microgrid companies are expected to follow Scale’s lead.
“The AI boom is creating growth opportunities across the economy, and it makes sense that microgrid companies are moving to secure a larger role for themselves and their technology,” said Rich Miller, a data center journalist and analyst.
Microgrid providers pairing with other companies to handle more of the data center development process is a logical step amid the AI boom.
“The AI boom is driving a lot of M&A activity as companies seek to acquire capabilities so they can offer comprehensive offerings for hyperscalers and other large AI customers,” Miller said.
Microgrid providers have also begun providing electrical services closer to the chip, acting as emissaries to data center developers unfamiliar with utility culture, and consulting on siting and interconnection opportunities.
Arie Brish, an MBA professor at St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas, said that microgrid companies can become data center developers who serve as system integrators that assemble a team that might include construction and computer providers, networking suppliers, software developers and financing options.
“Any major player in the ecosystem can play this role and partner with the other participants,” he said.
A major focus in the industry is on developing off-grid microgrids to accelerate the energization of data centers.
Off-grid microgrids not only help data center developers avoid interconnection and permitting delays, but can also help companies sidestep state and federal legislation designed to regulate data center energy consumption, said Angela Juneau, a lawyer at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden who has been tracking the growth of data centers in New Jersey.
“Some developers are making data centers less reliant on energy grids by generating their own energy. If microgrid companies get involved in data center development, that will provide data centers another safe off-ramp from the grid,” she said.
Scale Microgrids will be able to expand its coverage area by working with Reload, which has demonstrated the ability to identify sites and land suitable for data centers, said Ryan Goodman, CEO of Scale Microgrids.
The acquisition will also help Scale develop land.
“Reload further enhances our capabilities and skill set around land development, and all the things needed for an exciting power land site,” he said. That includes permitting, fiber, water and developing relationships with towns. “They have a proven ability to move the needle on all those things, in geographies we weren’t as historically focused on,” Goodman said.
Scale has hundreds of energy projects for large customers and data centers, the company said. Scale aims to deliver gigawatts of energy centers for hyperscalers and data center operators, enabling them to address utility interconnection delays.
Other microgrid providers are developing new ways to help data centers, reaching beyond energy infrastructure and into data centers themselves, at the chip level in one case.
Siemens and Eaton joined together to propose a “power to chip” approach. By providing modular microgrids, their aim is faster deployment timelines, optimized efficiency and a more financially sustainable way to meet AI-driven compute demand.
In addition to finding new ways to help data centers, microgrid companies are deploying onsite power to achieve speed-to-power.
A Bloom Energy survey found that more data centers are focusing on onsite power to quickly build data centers. The survey found data centers are moving into power-friendly regions, demonstrating that power availability is an important factor in siting data centers.
JLL, a professional services firm specializing in commercial real estate and investment management, reported last week that at least 10 new campuses are seeking 1 gigawatt or more of power. Building at this kind of scale often means combining multiple types of energy resources, which could include bridging power until a utility connection arrives, pairing renewable power with energy storage or eventually deploying small modular reactors, Miller said.
“The delays in energy availability have more folks ready to embrace an ‘all of the above’ strategy to deploy more capacity, both now and for the long term,” he said.
Because microgrids are so flexible and continue to add new capabilities every year, they’re an important resource for data centers, said Jacob Betcher, CEO at Mayfield Renewables, an engineering and consulting firm that designs microgrids.
“For data centers, a microgrid can be an ideal solution in many circumstances — and microgrid/data center partnerships are likely to develop operating models that push efficiencies well beyond what we achieve today,” he said.
