Last year, multiple tornadoes touched down in Kentucky and tore a wide path of destruction across four states. Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 storm, destroying infrastructure across nine states. Several winter storms caused disastrous power failures in Texas. The number of extreme weather events has increased over the past few years, causing more and more widespread power outages in the U.S. and across the globe. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) indicated the number of reported electrical disturbances has more than doubled in the past three years from 150 disturbances in 2017 to 383 in 2020.
For critical facilities, like data centers, backup power is a necessity to maintain operation during utility outages. Facility personnel and operators consider the backup power system as the pacemaker of the electrical system. It keeps the power flowing and facility alive when the utility stops. Codes, such as National Electrical Code (NEC) 706, “Critical Operation Power Systems,” and ANSI-TIA 942, require backup power for certain critical facilities to maintain operation. Diesel generators are the most common source for backup power, as they are reliable, cost-effective, and have refueling capabilities that give them the ability to operate for extended run times. Because of this, the diesel generator market has increased rapidly, crossing the $25 billion mark in 2020. Global Market Insights is projecting a 5%-6% annual increase over the next seven years, mostly due to increasing weather severity, aging utility infrastructure, and the frequency of blackouts. But, are diesel generators the sustainable answer for providing backup power?