Data centers in New York state are being invited to apply for grants of up to $2 million to fund novel heat reuse systems.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is looking for data centers to be part of phase three of its heat recovery program, which is “focused on energizing the New York marketplace for heat recovery solutions as an economical approach to decarbonization for a broad swath of existing buildings.”
To be eligible for the funding, NYSERDA says data center projects must comprise “a solution that recovers and reuses waste heat from data center operations, resulting in lower utility energy demands, such as using heat exchange systems or novel waste heat-to-power conversion methods.”
For data centers that form part of a larger building, the recovered waste heat can be used by other parts of the building, NYSERDA said. For a dedicated data center, an adjacent building will have to be the recipient of the waste heat, off-setting utility purchased energy.
Projects already underway are not eligible for funding. Any companies wishing to be part of the scheme can find more details on the NYSERDA website, or email heatrecovery@nyserda.ny.gov.
Some data centers in New York are already reusing heat in novel ways.
DCD reported last year that warmth generated by Bitcoin mining rigs was being used to heat a spa in Brooklyn. Bathhouse said it was running mining rigs at its N 10th Street address in Brooklyn, which generate heat as a byproduct. This heat is taken by heat exchangers and used to heat the venue's pools, via a circulating system.
