▲ SK On's U.S. subsidiary, SK Battery America (SKBA)
As the spread of global artificial intelligence data centers (AIDCs) brings power supply combining gas-fired generation and energy storage systems (ESS) to the forefront as a new market, expectations are growing within the domestic battery industry for additional ESS orders.
The government's decision to pursue a combined-cycle gas turbine power plant construction project in Texas as its first strategic investment project in the U.S. is also increasing the chances of local companies participating in the business.
According to the industry on the 27th, the first strategic investment project in the U.S. recently reported by the government to the National Assembly is a project to build a 6.3GW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Encinal, Texas, to supply power to nearby data centers currently being promoted at a 5GW scale.
This 30 trillion won project is designed to respond to soaring electricity demand driven by the increase in AI data centers (AIDCs) within the U.S.
Recently in the U.S., natural gas power generation, which can stably supply large-scale electricity, is drawing attention as a power source for AIDCs.
However, because AIDCs experience significant fluctuations in power demand due to the operation of hundreds of thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs) and can suffer large-scale disruptions from even a momentary blackout, a high level of power quality and stability is required.
Accordingly, the possibility of building battery energy storage systems (BESS) alongside gas power generation to manage power quality and supplement stability is also growing.
Consulting firm McKinsey pointed out in a recent report that "while power generation facilities are expanding rapidly, supporting infrastructure such as power grids and ESS has not been built sufficiently in comparison."
Jung Won-seok, an analyst at iM Securities, also forecasted in a report that "the trend of installing gas power generation and ESS together near data centers is increasing," adding that "this will become an essential option moving forward."
As a result, the industry is seeing the emergence of power solutions that combine ESS with traditional power sources like gas generation, going beyond the conventional approach of linking renewable energy and ESS.
(Photo provided by SK On, Yonhap News)
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