Sustainable Integration of Data Centers in Smart Grids: Strategies and Opportunities
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A1: Smart Grids and Microgrids".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2026 | Viewed by 42
Special Issue Editor
Interests: optimization; algorithms; smart grids; networking
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services and digital platforms is driving an unprecedented growth in global data processing. Recent estimates suggest that the amount of data generated and processed worldwide is increasing by nearly 40% annually. This rapid digitalization has led to a strong expansion of data center infrastructure, which has become a cornerstone of the modern digital economy. Consequently, data centers are emerging as major electricity consumers, with their energy demand increasing at annual rates that can reach approximately 9%. At the same time, their advanced monitoring, control capabilities and operational flexibility offer new opportunities to support the evolution of smart grids and the broader energy transition.
This Special Issue focuses on strategies for the sustainable integration of data centers within smart grids, emphasizing solutions that enhance energy efficiency, operational flexibility and renewable energy utilization. Contributions that explore how data centers can interact with power systems as not only large electricity consumers but also active participants capable of providing energy flexibility and supporting grid stability are invited. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, demand response and workload management, integration with renewable energy sources, energy storage solutions, waste heat recovery, microgrid-based data centers and AI-driven energy management systems. Studies addressing market mechanisms and planning approaches that facilitate the grid-interactive operation of data centers are also welcome. By bringing together insights from the energy and digital infrastructure domains, this Special Issue aims to advance sustainable and resilient smart energy systems.
Dr. Eleni Stai
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- integrated power–compute systems
- grid-AI cyber–physical systems
- data center energy management
- data center integration in smart grids
- flexible electricity demand
- low-carbon data centers
- distributed energy resources
- demand response
- renewable energy integration
- energy storage systems
- microgrids
- workload management
- grid flexibility
- waste heat recovery
- AI-based energy management
- sustainable energy systems
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