Master+, Riello UPS’s pioneering battery storage project in partnership with RWE, is nominated for a major data centre prize. The smart grid-ready solution, which enables Data Centers to play their part in the transition towards a more decentralised electricity network, is a finalist in the DCS Awards 2020.
Organised by the popular online publication Data Centre Solutions (DCS), the annual awards celebrate examples of excellence throughout the UK’s Data Centre industry. This year’s contest has seen more than 300 nominations across 31 categories spanning subjects such as cooling, edge, efficiency, and automation.
Riello UPS and RWE’s Master+ is in the final 8 of the “Data Centre Power Innovation of the Year” category.
What Is The Master+ Solution?
Master+ is a collaboration bringing together Riello UPS and energy trading specialists RWE. It combines demand side response capabilities with enhanced system resilience. The concept empowers data centres and other large-scale energy users to rethink the role of their uninterruptible power supplies. It transforms their UPS and batteries into a “Virtual Power Plant” which can feed electricity into the network, helping to keep grid frequency balanced.
Master+ involves a highly-efficient smart grid ready-UPS, expanded (and subsidised) battery storage capacity, sophisticated 24/7 monitoring and control, and risk-free access to energy markets. The batteries are divided into 2 segments.
The first segment’s only task is to provide emergency backup in case of emergency – the traditional role of a UPS. The second “commercial” segment stores energy that can be used to help balance the grid through demand side response mechanisms such as Frequency Response. This offers revenue generation opportunities for data centres and can also reduce the grid tariffs operators have to pay.
Help Master+ Win The DCS Awards 2020
The overall category winners of the DCS Awards 2020 are decided by a public vote.
You can vote for Riello UPS and RWE here. In addition, you can read the Master+ awards entry here.
The final deadline for votes is Thursday 26 November.
All DCS Awards 2020 winners will be revealed on Thursday 10 December.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony will be a strictly online-only event.
Learn More About Master+
In this video presentation, Riello UPS Technical Services Manager Jason Yates explains more about the Master+ concept. He also shares several examples, including commercial installations in large-scale data centres, where the solution is already up and running.