This startup wants to make clean energy the default for data centers
The U.S. is on track to add a record 86 gigawatts of new wind, solar, and battery storage capacity this year—roughly the size of the U.K.’s entire grid. And there’s far more clean energy in the pipeline, with low-cost proposed projects that could help meet the surging demand from data centers. So why are data centers increasingly turning to polluting gas plants instead of clean energy? A startup…
The United States is set to add a record 86 gigawatts of new wind, solar, and battery storage capacity this year, potentially meeting the growing demand from data centers. However, many data centers are still turning to polluting gas plants instead of clean energy. Firma Power, a startup founded by former MIT classmate Jesse Jenkins and Scott Burger, aims to change this by creating a platform that can source clean energy from multiple projects to power data centers.
Their software, called FirmaOS, calculates the energy needs of a proposed data center and searches for clean energy projects to create a portfolio that can support it. This process, which would typically take months, can now be done in minutes. Firma Power then handles the logistics of bringing all the clean energy projects together, allowing data center developers to sign a single contract. By using clean energy, data centers may become more appealing to communities that are wary of them.
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