How Generac's Generators Will Power Next-Gen Data Centres

Data centre power demand is rising at a rapid pace due to the growing use of high-performance computing and AI, which require energy to train and run large models. 

The rollout of 5G and IoT, alongside greater digital transformation across industries, is widening infrastructure needs and forcing more services to go online. 

In an attempt to meet the evolving needs of the data centre market, Generac Holdings has revealed its latest range of emergency stand-by generators.

These products address the growing global demand for reliable backup power amidst rising energy use and support enterprise, hyperscale and edge data centres.

Ricardo Navarro, Senior VP & General Manager, Global Telecom and Data Centres, Generac, explains: “Data centres are the lifeblood of today’s growing digital infrastructure, and this industry needs a reliable partner they can count on for backup power.

“For decades, we’ve been powering the world's largest telecom operators, hospitals and many other mission critical businesses including onsite data centres.

"Coupled with our expertise in designing generators specific to a wide variety of industries and uses, this new line of generators is designed to meet the most rigorous standards for performance, packaging, and after-treatment specific to the data centre market."

The high-capacity generator line

Generac has boosted its ability to expand into energy ecosystems and support high-capacity applications through the introduction of five new generators, ranging from 2.25 MW to 3.25 MW. 

The new high-capacity generators will feature:

Low emissions
- This will help organisations meet stringent state environmental regulations in Virginia. They are also ready for use with compliant Tier 4 aftertreatment systems. 

Baudouin M55 engines
- These engines offer excellent transient response, low NOx emissions and high ambient temperature derate capability by utilising a high-pressure common rail fuel system. Across the world, the engines offer continuous and backup power for mission-critical applications and data centres.

Marathon DataMAX alternators
- These alternators help cater for demanding international data centre applications by focusing on low reactance and reliability.

Deep Sea G8601 Controller
- This offers a vast range of high-end features for mission-critical applications and can be configured to fit most needs.

High ambient cooling packages
- These will maintain top performance in the most challenging environments.

Configurable circuit breakers
- These breakers are configurable up to full rated generator amperage at 480V and can be offered as left and/or right-side.

Generac Modular Power Systems (MPS)
- MPS calls upon Deep Sea onboard paralleling controls to improve scalability, reliability and serviceability by combining several generators. It also offers flexible, redundant and easily expandable power solutions. 

Redundant starting system 
- These systems are fully isolated to avoid single points of failure and features an extra set of batteries, engine starters and battery chargers available.

The new generator line will support Generac’s commitment to adaptable and resilient energy solutions. This will allow data centre operators to better manage rapid deployment needs, sustainability pressures and rising workloads.

Generac’s varied supply chain model enhances resilience against rising demand by enabling access to innovation, mitigating risks, balancing costs and accelerating scalability.

Businesses can also adapt effectively by offering lead times of 50-60 weeks for fully packaged generators. 

How are the generators designed for the evolving data centre industry?

Generac’s latest high-capacity generators will respond to the changes made to data infrastructure by edge computing, AI and cloud services through its future-ready design and precision-engineered features.

The generator range can cater for the full spectrum of data centre types, such as modular edge facilities and hyperscale campuses.

Operators can parallel several units to match power demand through the generator’s support for MPS. This offers flexibility to integrate seamlessly with existing architectures and scale as digital workloads increase.

As data centres begin to be located in less stable or warmer environments, generators must suit remote edge deployments and urban hyperscale hubs. Generac’s new range does so by being compatible with Tier 4 aftertreatment systems and being designed with high environmental resilience in mind. 

Generac’s differentiated supply chain strategy maintains scalable production capacity that adjusts to product demand, shorter lead times compared to industry norms and streamlined packaging to ensure operators can bring facilities online faster.

Brad Meissner, Director of Product Management, industrial stationary generators, Generac, states: "We’re seeing rapid growth in the construction of new data centres by hyperscalers and cloud service providers, which is fuelled by the explosion of AI and an unprecedented surge in energy demand.

“With our unmatched scalability and innovative new products, we’re well positioned to meet the increasing demands of this growing market. Unlike others, our differentiated supply chain and our ability to adjust production to market demand allows us to provide shorter lead times, which enables faster deployment and helps reduce downtime.” 

The design of this new range demonstrates Generac’s awareness of the changing data centre industry and its drive to futureproof mission-critical operations. 

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