Artificial Intelligence for Data Center Operations

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts the world’s most energy efficient High-Performance Computing (HPC) data center (NREL, 2018). The data center is located inside the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), a 17,000 m2 research facility on NREL’s campus in Golden, Colorado that was rated Platinum by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program for its energy efficient design and construction.

The ESIF contains integrated energy laboratory space, a hydrogen storage facility, office space, state-of-the-art 3D visualization rooms, and the HPC data center. A holistic approach was taken to design the 930 m2 data center, with a goal to capture waste heat and to facilitate the efficient use of energy resources.