Optimising Digital Infrastructure Power Supply in 2026
As data centres enter a new year of rising power demands, high-density AI workloads and sustainability expectations, the current engineering decisions will determine the resiliency of future digital infrastructures.
In this exclusive interview with Data Centre Magazine, Paul Hood, Chief Operating Officer at AVK, explains how operators are navigating this shift – from rethinking backup power strategies to building microgrids that can operate independently of constrained national networks.
As data centres become more power-dense and operationally complex, what are the biggest engineering challenges operators face?
The biggest challenge in this industry for engineering is the growing gap between the digital and energy transitions. AI-focused growth is driving demand faster than Europe’s power systems can effectively adapt to. Traditional grid infrastructures weren’t designed primarily for high-density AI applications that require quick updates compared to previous IT, so we are increasingly seeing operators facing capacity challenges before construction starts.
The engineering response to the increased strain on the grid and operational limits in delivering power is a need for a redesign. By adopting alternatives like microgrids and utilising dispatchable power, it can operate independently and later on integrate with the grid, which means designing for fuel flexibility and emissions compliance from the beginning.
This challenge looks at how we build an energy system that remains resilient and adaptable while maintaining environmental security, rather than just powering a data centre.
How are service, maintenance and asset-lifecycle strategies evolving in an era of microgrids, hybrid generation and higher redundancy requirements?
The shift to microgrids and alternative power strategies has fundamentally changed the service, maintenance and asset-lifecycle environment.
Integrating standby with generators utilised solely during power outages, operators are increasingly using engines and batteries that function as continuously operating resources, providing prime power, backing up renewables and feeding energy back into the grid.
AVK’s work on dispatchable power highlights that microgrids are evolving from a secondary solution to a fundamental aspect of contemporary power architecture. This requires enhanced collaboration among mechanical, electrical and controls engineering, along with maintenance models that depict the behaviour of operating power plants instead of rarely utilised backup systems.
Service teams are required to oversee the lifecycle of balancing engines. AVK’s growth of European Service Hubs in the Netherlands, Germany and some developing areas shows the demand for localised engineering responses as microgrids become more widespread. The industry's evident challenge in employing skilled workers highlights the need for a fresh strategy for workforce development.
The AVK Academy was developed to address this, supporting talent with training across various levels and practical learning. Supporting next-gen critical power infrastructure now demands a comprehensive mix of closeness and expertise for the future.
Digital infrastructure is expanding rapidly into Tier 2 markets. What operational considerations change in these newer locations?
Tier 2 markets offer a different operational environment compared to the conventional centres.
AVK and Wartsila’s recent whitepaper on dispatchable power shows that solutions independent from the grid are evolving into essential needs due to increasing connection wait times and heightened regional limitations. Operators entering these markets should consider energy strategy as a key component of site selection.
Another element to be aware of is the accessibility of a qualified engineering workforce. Tier 2 locations feature limited numbers of skilled data centre engineers, which is the reason AVK is investing in local initiatives like the new service hubs in the Netherlands to guarantee proximity to data centre projects and quicker deployment of field teams. Community involvement is also gaining more significance.
How should operators prepare their critical power systems to manage the volatility of both AI workloads and renewable-heavy grids?
Operators need to implement flexible microgrids capable of providing dispatchable power. AI workloads cause significant fluctuations, resulting in sudden peaks that conventional grid infrastructure struggles to manage. Using a hybrid system that integrates renewables, medium-speed engines and battery storage presents the most balanced approach, ensuring stability while achieving low emissions and cost-effectiveness.
Dispatchable power is vital as it enables operators to react immediately to varying load requirements. Medium-speed engines operating on HVO or gas deliver the rapid ramping capability essential for AI inference and training tasks, and research from AVK indicates they surpass turbines in flexibility and efficiency at part load. The design should also consider fuel flexibility during construction.
What will define best-in-class operational resilience for data centres by 2030?
By 2030, data centres will be able to operate away from the grid for long durations while enhancing national energy systems. Microgrids will shift to a primary power strategy rather than a supplemental one, as facilities implement new strategies for reliable, uninterrupted performance.
Resiliency will also rely on emissions-compliant and fuel-flexible systems that can shift from HVO to gas or hydrogen mixtures with minimal modifications.
Predictive maintenance and AI-based monitoring are becoming essential tools for improving efficiency and preventing faults.
However, none of this can happen without the right individuals – attracting and retaining talented engineers, with organised initiatives such as AVK’s Academy setup, will be crucial to the industry's enduring strength and future.
