System and method for supplying and distributing power and cold water in off-grid type data center

Abstract

In an off-grid type data center 2a comprising: a gas turbine combined-cycle power plant 50 that supplies power to IT equipment 10 stored in a data center room 11; a cooling device 20 for cooling the IT equipment; and an air-conditioning device 30 that air-conditions the inside of the data center room, the IT equipment 10 is caused to perform information processing using power generated in the gas turbine combined-cycle power plant 50, which generates power using synthetic methane gas supplied from a vaporizer 40 that vaporizes liquefied synthetic methane, and a chiller 60 is operated to cool second cold water to a second temperature. First cold water cooled to a first temperature by the vaporizer 40 is used by the air-conditioning device 30 to air-condition the inside of the data center room. The second cold water cooled to the second temperature is cooled in a heat exchanger 75 using surplus first cold water that is not used by the air-conditioning device 30.

Description

System and method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for supplying power and chilled water to an off-grid data center, which supplies power to IT equipment such as servers housed in a data center room, and also supplies chilled water for cooling the IT equipment and chilled water for air conditioning the data center room.

[0002] IT equipment such as servers consume large amounts of electricity and generate a lot of heat when in operation. Therefore, data centers, which house a large number of IT devices, consume a large amount of electricity. To prevent malfunctions or failures caused by the heat generated, it is necessary to cool the IT equipment and to maintain a comfortable temperature in the data center rooms where the IT equipment is housed and workers perform their tasks. The electricity used in data centers mainly consists of electricity used by IT equipment such as servers for data processing, electricity used to cool the heat generated by the IT equipment, and electricity used to air condition the data center rooms where the IT equipment is housed. Because data centers use electricity continuously, a stable power supply is required day and night. Hyperscale data centers, which are currently under construction, require a large-scale power supply. Many businesses that use data centers are increasingly seeking decarbonized electricity such as renewable energy. With the expansion of data centers due to the increased use of generative AI and the resulting surge in electricity consumption, it is difficult to meet the three requirements of stability, energy efficiency, and decarbonization with commercially available electricity. Therefore, there is a need for data centers that are off-grid by having a power plant attached to them, enabling them to supply their own electricity. Furthermore, it is said that the electricity used for cooling IT equipment in data centers and for air conditioning in the data center rooms where the IT equipment is housed accounts for 20-30% of the total electricity used by the data center, so there is a need for energy conservation. Patent Document 1 describes the installation of a cogeneration type air conditioning system equipped with a cogeneration device 4 in a data center 1. The electricity generated by the steam power generator 6 and hot water power generator 7 of the cogeneration device 4 is supplied as a power source to server equipment 27 etc. in the data center 1, and also drives the fluid compressor of the chiller 91 to send chilled water to the chiller 91 to cool the server equipment 27. The chilled water cooled by the chiller 91 is supplied to a heat exchanger 141 installed in the oil storage tank 14, and cools the cooling oil stored in the oil storage tank 14 by heat exchange. A portion of the cooled cooling oil flows down from the cooling oil supply unit 12 to the server device 27 within the server room space A1, cooling the server device 27.The remaining cooled coolant is supplied from the second coolant supply unit 162 to the air cooling unit 16 of the air recovery unit 15. After the server device 27 is cooled and heated in the server room space A1, the air recovered in the air recovery unit 15 is cooled by the air cooling unit 16.

[0003] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-153241

[0004] The cogeneration-type air conditioning system described in Patent Document 1 can save energy in the data center 1 by supplying power generated by a cogeneration device 4 using surplus steam and hot water generated at steel mills, factories, etc., to the server equipment 27 of the data center 1 as operating power. Furthermore, the server equipment 27 can be cooled at low cost by exchanging heat between chilled water produced by a chiller 9 driven by the power generated by the cogeneration device 4 and the cooling oil used to cool the server equipment 27 in the server room space A1. However, the power generated by the cogeneration-type air conditioning system described in Patent Document 1 does not meet the stability and decarbonization requirements for power supplied to the data center 1 because the steam power generation device 6 and hot water power generation device 7 are operated using surplus steam and hot water generated at steel mills, factories, etc. Furthermore, while Patent Document 1 describes supplying chilled water from a refrigerator 9 to an electronic equipment cooling device 10 for cooling a server device 27, it does not describe the relationship between the air conditioning system that provides air conditioning for the data center room containing a server room 20 that houses multiple server devices 27 in a sealed state and the electronic equipment cooling device 10.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for stably, decarbonize, and energy-saving supply of electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, which includes a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment such as servers for data processing, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat when it consumes power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room where the IT equipment is housed.

[0006] The present invention relates to a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising: a power supply device for supplying electricity to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed; a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming electricity; and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, the system comprising: a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied synthetic methane supplied from a liquefied synthetic methane supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied synthetic methane into synthetic methane gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out; a gas turbine generator that rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of the synthetic methane gas supplied from the vaporizer; and a steam turbine generator that rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam generated by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a waste heat recovery boiler, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the waste heat recovery boiler. The system includes a gas turbine combined cycle power plant that supplies power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room, a chiller comprising a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator, and an electric motor that drives the compressor using a portion of the power supplied from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant, which cools the second chilled water circulated through the cooling system to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, and the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer which is circulated through the air conditioning system to the vaporizer. This is a system for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a flow divider that divides the air conditioning system, which recirculates to the power supply, into a required flow rate of chilled air conditioning water and the remaining flow rate of chilled cooling water; and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the chilled cooling water supplied from the flow divider, cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sends it to the cooling system, and recirculates the chilled cooling water, which has exchanged heat with the second chilled water, to the vaporizer.

[0007] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising: a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment in a data center room where IT equipment is housed; a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power; and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, wherein a vaporizer exchanges heat between liquefied synthetic methane supplied from a liquefied synthetic methane supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied synthetic methane into synthetic methane gas, the first chilled water is cooled to a first temperature and sent out, and a gas turbine generator drives a generator by rotating a gas turbine with combustion gas produced by the combustion of the synthetic methane gas supplied from the vaporizer, and a waste heat recovery boiler drives a generator by rotating a steam turbine with steam produced by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine, and the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine is condensed This is a method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a gas turbine combined cycle power plant equipped with a steam turbine generator that condenses the condensed water in a container and sends it to the waste heat recovery boiler, supplying power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room; a chiller that cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature; a vaporizer that divides the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into air conditioning chilled water of the required flow rate for the air conditioning device and cooling chilled water of the remaining flow rate; and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cooling the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sending it to the cooling device, and returning the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water to the vaporizer.

[0008] According to the present invention, in an off-grid data center, synthetic methane gas, vaporized from liquefied synthetic methane in a vaporizer, is used as fuel in a gas turbine combined cycle power plant. This allows the gas turbine to be efficiently driven by the combustion gas of synthetic methane, enabling a stable and decarbonized supply of self-sufficient electricity generated by the gas turbine combined cycle power plant to IT equipment. When using existing gas turbines in a gas turbine combined cycle power plant installed in an off-grid data center and using hydrogen gas as fuel instead of natural gas, there is a risk of incomplete combustion due to localized excessive heat in the combustion chamber, generating NOx, and lowering the combustion temperature. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a large gas turbine that uses hydrogen gas as fuel. Even when synthetic methane gas is used as fuel in an existing gas turbine, it can be completely combusted without generating NOx and drive the turbine efficiently. This makes it possible to use existing gas turbines and synthetic methane gas as fuel in a gas turbine combined cycle power plant. In an off-grid data center, the first chilled water, cooled to a first temperature by the vaporizer when the liquefied synthetic methane vaporizes, is divided by a flow divider into conditioned chilled water needed for the air conditioning system that maintains a predetermined temperature inside the data center where the IT equipment is housed, and the remaining flow rate of chilled water. The conditioned chilled water cools the inside of the data center and then recirculates back to the vaporizer. The second chilled water, which cools the IT equipment in the cooling system and then circulates through the chiller, is cooled to a second temperature higher than the first temperature in the chiller. The second chilled water, cooled to the second temperature, exchanges heat with the remaining flow rate of chilled water in a heat exchanger and is cooled to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature before being sent back to the cooling system. The chilled water recirculates from the heat exchanger back to the vaporizer. This allows for energy savings in air conditioning and cooling of IT equipment within data centers by distributing the cooling energy generated as latent heat of vaporization when liquefied synthetic methane is vaporized to produce synthetic methane gas used for generating electricity for off-grid data centers to air conditioning and cooling systems.Furthermore, when vaporizing liquefied synthetic methane, the amount of cold energy necessary to maintain a predetermined temperature inside the data center is transferred to the air conditioning system using refrigerated chilled water. The remaining cold energy is then transferred from the refrigerated chilled water to a second chilled water cooled by a refrigerator and used by the cooling system. This allows for effective utilization of the cold energy generated in the vaporizer regardless of weather conditions, further contributing to energy conservation.

[0009] This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the first embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the second embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the third embodiment. This is a diagram showing the mass energy balance of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the first embodiment.

[0010] 1. Configuration of the First Embodiment According to the first embodiment, the system 1a that supplies power and chilled water to an off-grid data center 2a that supplies power to IT equipment 10 such as servers housed in large numbers in a data center room 11, cools the IT equipment 10 that consume power and generate heat for data processing, and air-conditions the data center room 11 according to the outdoor temperature, solar radiation, incoming outside air, number of people in the room, indoor lighting, etc., is as shown in Figure 1, and comprises a cooling device 20 for cooling the IT equipment 10, an air conditioning device 30 for air-conditioning the data center room 11, and a system that exchanges heat between liquefied synthetic methane and first chilled water 41 to produce synthetic methane gas The system includes a vaporizer 40 that vaporizes the first chilled water 41 and cools it to a first temperature before sending it out, a gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50 that supplies power to IT equipment 10, a chiller 60 that cools the second chilled water 21 that has circulated through the cooling device 20 to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, a flow divider 70 that divides the first chilled water 41 cooled by the vaporizer 40 into air conditioning chilled water 43 and cooling chilled water 42, and a heat exchanger 75 that exchanges heat between the second chilled water 21 at the second temperature supplied from the chiller 60 and the cooling chilled water 42 supplied from the flow divider 70 to cool the second chilled water 21 to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature.

[0011] The data center room 11, located in the data center building 12, houses numerous IT devices 10, such as servers, which consume power and generate heat for data processing. Multiple racks 13 are arranged in parallel within the data center room 11, and each rack 13 has multiple shelves arranged vertically for placing multiple IT devices 10 in parallel. The numerous servers and other IT devices 10 consume a large amount of power and generate heat for data processing. To prevent malfunctions caused by the rising temperature of the IT devices 10, a cooling system 20 cools the IT devices 10.

[0012] The cooling device 20 for cooling the IT equipment 10 takes in air from the data center room 11 and circulates it through the high-temperature side 23 of the cooling exchanger 22, circulates the low-temperature side 24 with second chilled water 21 at a third temperature supplied from the heat exchanger 75, and blows the cooled air, which has been cooled by the second chilled water 21, from the outlet 25 onto the multiple IT equipment 10 placed on the rack 13 to cool the IT equipment 10. The cooling device 20 is not limited to cooling by blowing cold air onto the IT equipment 10, but may also be a chilled water cooling system that cools the IT equipment by exchanging heat with chilled water. Alternatively, the IT equipment 10 may be cooled by immersing it in cooling oil cooled with second chilled water 21 at a third temperature while it is placed on the rack 13.

[0013] In the vaporizer 40, liquefied synthetic methane supplied from the liquefied synthetic methane supply device 47 flows on the low-temperature side 44, and circulating first chilled water 41 flows on the high-temperature side 45, causing heat exchange between the liquefied synthetic methane and the first chilled water 41. This vaporizes the liquefied synthetic methane into synthetic methane gas, which is sent to the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50. The first chilled water 41 is cooled to a first temperature and sent to the flow divider 70. The liquefied synthetic methane supplied from the liquefied synthetic methane supply device 47 is carbon-neutral synthetic methane produced by methanation of carbon dioxide with green hydrogen or blue hydrogen.

[0014] The chiller 60 is a known type in which a refrigerant circulates through a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator, and an electric motor 61 drives the compressor. The electric motor 61 is powered by electricity from a gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50. The high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous medium pressurized by the compressor is cooled in the condenser by cooling water circulating between it and the cooling tower to become a medium-temperature, low-pressure liquid medium, and then vaporizes into a low-temperature, constant-pressure gas in the evaporator. The second chilled water 21 that has circulated through the cooling device 20 by the chiller 60 is cooled to a second temperature higher than the first temperature by transferring heat of vaporization to the medium in the evaporator.

[0015] In the heat exchanger 75, second chilled water 21 at a second temperature supplied from the chiller 60 flows through the high-temperature side 76, and cooling chilled water 42 supplied from the flow divider 70 flows through the low-temperature side 77. The second chilled water 21 at the second temperature is cooled by the cooling chilled water 42 to a third temperature that is higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature. The cooling chilled water 42 that flows out from the low-temperature side 77 recirculates to the vaporizer 40.

[0016] The first chilled water 41, cooled to a first temperature in the vaporizer 40, is divided into cooling chilled water 42 and air conditioning chilled water 43 by the flow divider 70. The flow divider 70 includes a first variable throttle valve 71 that controls the flow resistance of the cooling chilled water 42 and a second variable throttle valve 72 that controls the flow resistance of the air conditioning chilled water 43. By controlling the flow resistances of the first and second variable throttle valves 71 and 72, the flow divider 70 divides the first chilled water 41 at the first temperature into air conditioning chilled water 43 at the flow rate required by the air conditioning system 30 and cooling chilled water 42 at the remaining flow rate that is supplied to the heat exchanger 75. The flow rate of air conditioning chilled water 43 required by the air conditioning system 30 is the flow rate required by the air conditioning system 30 to air condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature.

[0017] The air conditioning system 30, which air-conditions the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature, takes in air from the data center room 11 and circulates it through the high-temperature side 32 of the air conditioning heat exchanger 31, and flows air-conditioned chilled water 43 supplied from the flow divider 70 through the low-temperature side 33, cooling the air in the data center room 11 with the air-conditioned chilled water 43 to air-condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature. The air-conditioned chilled water 43 that flows out from the low-temperature side 33 is recirculated to the vaporizer 40. The air conditioning control device 34 calculates the required flow rate of air-conditioned chilled water 43 necessary to air-condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature based on the temperature difference between the indoor temperature of the server center room 11 and the outside air temperature, and controls the first and second variable throttle valves 71 and 72 so that the required flow rate of air-conditioned chilled water 43 flows through the low-temperature side 33 of the air conditioning heat exchanger 31. As a result, if the flow rate of the first chilled water 41 is set to 100, then depending on weather conditions, for example, the flow rate of the air conditioning chilled water 43 will change from 100 to 0, and the flow rate of the cooling chilled water 42 will change from 0 to 100.

[0018] The gas turbine combined cycle power plant (GTCC) 50 is a known type and includes a gas turbine generator 53 that drives a generator 52 by rotating a gas turbine 51 with combustion gas produced by the combustion of synthetic methane gas supplied from a vaporizer 40, and a steam turbine generator 57 that drives a generator 56 by rotating a steam turbine 55 with steam produced by heating condensate water in a heat recovery boiler 54 with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine 51. The exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine 55 is condensed into condensate water in a condenser and sent to the heat recovery boiler 54. The electricity generated by the gas turbine generator 53 and the steam turbine generator 57 is used for IT equipment 10 housed in the data center room 11, cooling equipment 20, air conditioning equipment 30, chillers 60, and lighting in the data center room 11.

[0019] 2. The liquefied synthetic methane supplied from the working liquefied synthetic methane supply device 47 of the first embodiment to the vaporizer 40 undergoes heat exchange with the first chilled water 41 to vaporize into synthetic methane gas, cooling the first chilled water 41 to a first temperature, for example, 7°C. The synthetic methane gas is sent to the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50, where it is burned to drive the gas turbine generator 53, and the combustion exhaust gas generates steam to drive the steam turbine generator 57 and generate electricity.

[0020] The first chilled water 41, cooled to a first temperature in the vaporizer 40, is divided by the flow divider 70 into the required flow rate of conditioned chilled water 43 and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water 42 in the air conditioning system 30. The conditioned chilled water 43 circulates through the air conditioning system 30 and returns to the vaporizer 40.

[0021] IT equipment 10, such as servers, which are powered by electricity supplied from a gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50, generate heat by performing data processing and other operations. The cooling device 20 cools the IT equipment 10 by blowing cold air, generated by cooling air taken in from the data center room 11 with second chilled water 21 at a third temperature supplied from a heat exchanger 75, onto multiple pieces of IT equipment 10. After cooling the IT equipment 10, the second chilled water 21, which has been heated to, for example, 25°C, is recirculated to the chiller 60. The chiller 60 cools the second chilled water 21 that has circulated through the cooling device 20 to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, for example, 15.5°C+ / -.

[0022] In the heat exchanger 75, second chilled water 21 at a second temperature supplied from the chiller 60 flows through the high-temperature side 76, and cooling chilled water 42 supplied from the flow divider 70 flows through the low-temperature side 77. The second chilled water 21 at the second temperature is cooled by the cooling chilled water 42 to a third temperature that is higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, for example, 15°C. The cooling chilled water 42 that flows out from the low-temperature side 77 recirculates to the vaporizer 40.

[0023] The air conditioning unit 30 cools the air in the data center room 11 with chilled water 43 to air condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature. The flow rate of chilled water 43 supplied to the air conditioning unit 30 is controlled by the flow divider 70 to the flow rate necessary for the air conditioning unit 30 to air condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature. The remaining flow rate of chilled water 42 is cooled by the heat exchanger 75 from a second temperature to a third temperature, and the IT equipment 10 is cooled via the cooling device 20.

[0024] 3. Effects of the First Embodiment According to the first embodiment, since liquefied synthetic methane is used as fuel in the off-grid data center 2a, the combustion gas of the synthetic methane gas vaporized from the liquefied synthetic methane in the vaporizer 40 burns a GCC gas turbine in the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50 to generate self-sufficient electricity, which can be stably supplied to the IT equipment 10 in a decarbonized manner. Based on the temperature difference between the outside air temperature and the temperature inside the data center 11, the first chilled water, which has had its cooling energy transferred in the vaporizer 40, is divided by the flow divider 70 into the required flow rate of conditioned chilled water 43 for the air conditioning system 30 and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water 42. The conditioned chilled water 43 is used to maintain the inside of the data center 11 at a predetermined temperature, and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water 43 is used to cool the IT equipment 10. As a result, air conditioning inside the data center 11 and cooling of the IT equipment 10 can be performed efficiently and energy-saving regardless of changes in the outside air temperature. In this way, all the electricity used in the off-grid data center 2a is supplied by synthetic methane gas power generation, the heat of vaporization of liquefied synthetic methane is preferentially used for the air conditioning system 30, and the surplus can be used for the cooling system 20. When the outside temperature is low and the use of heat of vaporization in the air conditioning system 30 is low, it can be used more in the cooling system 20, thereby reducing the electricity used in the refrigeration system 60 and, consequently, the use of liquefied synthetic methane. The liquefied synthetic methane supplied from the liquefied synthetic methane supply device 47 is not limited to e-methane synthesized (methanated) from recovered carbon dioxide and green hydrogen or blue hydrogen, but using e-methane can increase the degree of decarbonization of the electricity used in the off-grid data center 2a.

[0025] 4. Second Embodiment The system 1b for supplying and distributing electricity and chilled water in the off-grid data center according to the second embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment except that the chiller 60 is replaced with a triple-effect absorption chiller 62. The differences will be explained, and the same reference numerals will be used for components that are the same as in the first embodiment, and their explanations will be omitted.

[0026] The triple-effect absorption chiller 62 is known, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-196861, and as shown in Figure 2, comprises an absorber 63, a low-temperature regenerator 64, a medium-temperature regenerator 65, a high-temperature regenerator 66, a condenser 67, and an evaporator 68. The high-temperature regenerator 66 heats a dilute absorbent liquid containing a large amount of refrigerant, sent from the absorber 63 by an electric pump 69, with the combustion heat of synthetic methane gas supplied by splitting the flow from the vaporizer 40, evaporating the refrigerant to create a concentrated absorbent liquid which is then sent back to the absorber 63 by the electric pump 69. The medium-temperature regenerator 65 heats the dilute absorbent liquid sent from the absorber 63 with refrigerant vapor generated in the high-temperature regenerator 66, evaporating the refrigerant and sending it back to the absorber 63. The low-temperature regenerator 64 heats the dilute absorbent liquid sent from the absorber 63 with refrigerant vapor generated in the high-temperature regenerator 66 and the medium-temperature regenerator 65, evaporating the refrigerant and sending it back to the absorber 63. The refrigerant vapor generated in the high, medium, and low-temperature regenerators 66, 65, and 64 is sent from the low-temperature regenerator 64 to the condenser 67 where it is liquefied, and then sent to the low-pressure evaporator 68 where it evaporates.

[0027] The second chilled water 21, which has been heated to, for example, 25°C by circulating through the cooling device 20 to cool the IT equipment 10, is sent from the condenser 67 to the low-pressure evaporator 68 and cooled by the heat of vaporization of the refrigerant that evaporates, reaching a second temperature of 15.5°C+ / -, which is higher than the first temperature of 7°C. The vaporized refrigerant is sent to the absorber 63, cooled, and absorbed by the concentrated absorbent liquid sent from the high, medium, and low-temperature regenerators 46, 45, and 44. Power is supplied to each electric pump 69 from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50. The condenser 67 and absorber 63 are provided with cooling sections through which the cooling water circulates. In this way, the triple-effect absorption chiller 62 (refrigerator) cools the second chilled water 21 that has circulated through the cooling device 20 to a second temperature higher than the first temperature.

[0028] The second embodiment reduces the consumption of electricity generated by the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50 and efficiently cools the second chilled water used to cool the IT equipment 10 using synthetic methane gas. Furthermore, the second embodiment provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0029] 5. Third Embodiment The system 1c for supplying electricity and chilled water in the off-grid data center according to the third embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that it includes a liquefied natural gas supply device 48 for supplying liquefied natural gas and a mixing device 49 for mixing liquefied natural gas with liquefied synthetic methane supplied from a liquefied synthetic methane supply device 47 to produce a liquefied mixed gas. The differences will be explained, and components that are the same as in the second embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted.

[0030] The mixing device 49 mixes liquefied synthetic methane supplied from the liquefied synthetic methane supply device 47 with liquefied natural gas supplied from the liquefied natural gas supply device 48 to produce a liquefied mixed gas, which is then supplied to the vaporizer 40. Liquefied natural gas is considerably cheaper than liquefied synthetic methane. In addition, CO2 generated in environmental conservation projects, etc. ２ By utilizing carbon-neutral liquefied natural gas (CN-LNG), which effectively achieves zero emissions by deducting credits, we can contribute to decarbonization.

[0031] The vaporizer 40 exchanges heat between the liquefied mixed gas and the circulating first chilled water 41 to vaporize the liquefied mixed gas into a mixed gas of synthesized methane gas and natural gas, and cools the first chilled water 41 to a first temperature, for example, 7°C, before discharging it.

[0032] Since liquefied synthetic methane and liquefied natural gas have the same boiling point of approximately -162°C and almost the same liquid specific gravity of around 0.42, they are well mixed in the liquefied mixed gas in the mixing device 49, and in the vaporizer 40, heat exchange occurs with the first chilled water 41 to vaporize a homogeneous mixed gas of synthetic methane gas and natural gas. The mixed gas is sent to the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50, where it burns evenly to stably drive the gas turbine generator 53 and generate inexpensive electricity. Furthermore, the third embodiment provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0033] Next, a study example of the mass energy balance of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 will be described. A. Assumed conditions 1. The data center is an off-grid type with a liquefied synthetic methane energy source. 2. The cooling device for IT equipment such as servers is a chilled water cooling method. 3. The power consumption of IT equipment is set to 40,000 kW × 0.9 = 36,000 kW, and 4,000 kW is the other required power. 4. The building cooling load (structure, introduced outside air, in-room personnel, lighting, etc.) is covered by the latent heat of vaporization of liquefied synthetic methane. 5. The power consumption unit of the refrigerator is 0.9 kW / RT. 6. Physical properties of synthetic methane: LHV; 8,600 kcal / Nm ３ , density; 0.716 kg / Nm ３ , specific heat; 0.52 kcal / kg·°C, latent heat of vaporization; 122 kcal / kg, boiling point: -162°C 7. The power generation system is a GTCC method, and the power generation efficiency (η) is 50%. B. Design of off-grid data center 1. IT equipment cooling load: 36,000 kW × 860 kcal / kW ÷ 3,024 kcal / h / RT = 10,238 RT IT equipment power consumption = IT equipment cooling load 2. Refrigerator required power: (10,238 - 0) RT × 0.9 KW / RT = 9,214 KW 3. GTCC capacity: 40,000 kW + 9,214 kW = 49,214 kW 4. Synthetic methane supply amount: 49,214 kW × 860 kcal / kW ÷ 0.5 ÷ 8,600 kcal / Nm ３ -CH ４ = 9,853 Nm ３ -CH ４ / h 5. Latent heat of vaporization of liquefied synthetic methane: 9,853 Nm ３ / h × 0.716 kg / Nm ３ × (0.52 kcal / kg°C × 162°C + 122 kcal / kg) ÷ 3,024 kcal / RT = 481 RT 6. The total power used in the off-grid data center 1a is covered by synthetic methane gas power generation. The latent heat of vaporization of liquefied synthetic methane is preferentially used for the air conditioner 30, and the surplus in winter etc. is used by the cooling device 20. As the distribution of the latent heat of vaporization to the cooling device 20 increases or decreases, the power supplied to the refrigerator 60, and thus the supply amount to the vaporizer 40 of the liquid synthetic methane, is adjusted.

[0034] The method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the present invention can be configured by operating the systems 1a to 1c for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, as described in the configurations of the first to third embodiments, as described in the operation of the first to third embodiments. This method provides the same effects and advantages as the systems 1a to 1c for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center described herein.

[0035] 1a-1c: Systems for supplying electricity and chilled water in off-grid data centers; 2a-2c: Off-grid data centers; 10: IT equipment; 11: Inside the data center; 20: Cooling equipment; 21: Second chilled water; 30: Air conditioning equipment; 40: Vaporizer; 41: First chilled water; 42: Cooling chilled water; 43: Air conditioning chilled water; 47: Liquefied synthetic methane supply equipment; 48: Liquefied natural gas supply equipment; 49: Mixing equipment; 50: Gas turbine combined cycle power plant; 53: Gas turbine generator; 57: Steam turbine generator; 60: Refrigeration unit; 61: Electric motor; 62: Triple-effect absorption chiller (refrigeration unit); 69: Electric pump; 70: Flow divider; 75: Heat exchanger

Claims

1. A system for supplying power and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, wherein the system includes a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied synthetic methane supplied from a liquefied synthetic methane supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied synthetic methane into synthetic methane gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out, A gas turbine combined cycle power plant that supplies power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room, comprising a gas turbine generator that rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of the synthetic methane gas supplied from the vaporizer, and a steam turbine generator that rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam produced by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a heat recovery boiler, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the heat recovery boiler, and a chiller that cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, comprising a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator, and an electric motor that drives the compressor using a portion of the power supplied from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant, and a chiller that cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, A system for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a flow divider that divides the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into air conditioning chilled water of a flow rate required by the air conditioning system and cooling chilled water of the remaining flow rate, which circulates through the air conditioning system and returns to the vaporizer; and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sends it to the cooling system, and returns the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water to the vaporizer.

2. A system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, wherein the system includes a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied synthetic methane supplied from a liquefied synthetic methane supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied synthetic methane into synthetic methane gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out, A gas turbine combined cycle power plant that supplies power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room, comprising a gas turbine generator that drives a generator by rotating a gas turbine with combustion gas produced by the combustion of the synthetic methane gas supplied from the vaporizer, and a steam turbine generator that drives a generator by rotating a steam turbine with steam produced by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a heat recovery boiler, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the heat recovery boiler, and a triple-effect absorption chiller comprising a high-temperature regenerator, a medium-temperature regenerator, and a low-temperature regenerator that heat an absorbent liquid to evaporate a refrigerant, a condenser that condenses the evaporated refrigerant in a condenser, an evaporator that vaporizes the condensed refrigerant, and an absorber that absorbs the vaporized refrigerant into the absorbent liquid, wherein the high-temperature regenerator is heated by the combustion heat of the synthetic methane gas supplied from the vaporizer, and the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device is cooled to a second temperature higher than the first temperature in the evaporator, A system for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a flow divider that divides the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into air conditioning chilled water of a flow rate required by the air conditioning system and cooling chilled water of the remaining flow rate, which circulates through the air conditioning system and returns to the vaporizer; and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the triple-effect absorption chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sends it to the cooling system, and returns the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water to the vaporizer.

3. A system for supplying power and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: a liquefied natural gas supply device for supplying liquefied natural gas; and a mixing device for mixing the liquefied natural gas supplied from the liquefied natural gas supply device with the liquefied synthetic methane supplied from the liquefied synthetic methane supply device to produce a liquefied mixed gas and supplying it to the vaporizer, wherein the vaporizer exchanges heat with the liquefied mixed gas and the first chilled water circulating therein to vaporize the liquefied mixed gas into a mixed gas of synthetic methane gas and natural gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out.

4. A method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room containing IT equipment, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, wherein a vaporizer exchanges heat between liquefied synthetic methane supplied from a liquefied synthetic methane supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied synthetic methane into synthetic methane gas, and the first chilled water is cooled to a first temperature and sent out. A gas turbine combined cycle power plant is provided to supply power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room. The gas turbine generator rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of the synthetic methane gas supplied from the vaporizer, and a steam turbine generator rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam produced by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a heat recovery boiler, and the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine is condensed into condensed water in a condenser and sent to the heat recovery boiler. A chiller cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, and a flow divider divides the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into air conditioning chilled water of the required flow rate for the air conditioning device and cooling chilled water of the remaining flow rate. A method for supplying power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, thereby cooling the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sending it to the cooling device, and recirculating the cooling chilled water, which has exchanged heat with the second chilled water, to the vaporizer.

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