The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) in Applewood, Colorado, has unveiled a new test bed designed to enable data centers to become active participants in improving grid reliability.
– National Laboratory of the Rockies
Dubbed Agora, the large-load test bed is funded by the US DOE’s Office of Electricity and industry partners, who played a key role in its design. According to the DOE, it is the only dedicated large-load grid integration test bed across the US National Laboratory Complex.
“We built a 20th-century grid - but today we serve a 21st‑century, data‑driven, AI‑enabled economy,” said Katie Jereza, assistant secretary of DOE’s Office of Electricity. “Through innovative test beds, we are not just experimenting, we are creating confidence in a powerful new capability - one that delivers affordable, reliable, and secure power that our homes, businesses, and overall economy need.”
The test bed seeks to help data centers adopt flexible designs and cost-saving operational practices to support the grid during periods when demand is at risk of exceeding supply. The test bed will therefore convene utilities, data center developers, technology providers, and researchers across the US to develop best practices to improve grid flexibility. Industry partners set to take part in the initiative include Schneider Electric, Compass Datacenters, and Verrus.
