Top Ten Industries Requiring Megawatts of Generator Power

Video compilation of multiple megawatt power solutions provided by GPS

Data Centers

Data center providers deliver uptime warranties and service level agreements to some of the largest companies in the world. Electrical downtime in this industry is not an option, and reliable backup power systems are critically important to sustaining their business. While data centers come in all sizes, the larger data centers typically use in excess of 2 MW of power and can easily require multiple 3MW+ standby diesel generators running in parallel to support their critical load. Data center power can easily be scaled to the needs of the facility, often adding additional generators as power demands increase.

Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities

Emergency backup power is an absolute necessity for hospitals and healthcare facilities around the world. Now, more than ever, hospitals depend on reliable electricity in almost every aspect of patient care. Whether performing critical procedures in an ER room or sustaining life in an ICU, critical power back up equipment is an absolutely vital need for any healthcare facility. Hospitals are large multibuilding complexes that consume enormous amounts of power. Keeping them running often requires several 2MW+ backup power generators.

Manufacturing

Electrical power loads in the manufacturing industry, whether it be for sensitive microprocessors, precision chemistry equipment, or even the process of brewing a beer cannot afford for automation equipment to come to a halt in the midst of a manufacturing cycle. The product waste due to power failure is a very real loss of money, time, and even potentially damaged manufacturing equipment. Larger manufacturing facilities require multiple megawatts of reliable backup power, as an added insurance policy that manufacturing companies need to protect their product and their business.

Warehousing and Distribution

Today’s warehousing and distribution centers are in constant movement. Having a power outage in a distribution center can have a cascading effect for any large national or even statewide warehouse and distribution business. For perishable, shelf-life products, the warehousing and distribution must maintain a consistent flow of data and product. Depending on the size of these warehouses and distribution centers, they will typically have multiple megawatts of emergency power available. This will be feeding many critical loads, from things as simple as lighting to as complicated as robotic charging stations or onsite distributed computers.

Food Processing

Over the past 10 years, automation and specialized, advanced processing machinery has expanded exponentially into the food processing industry. This machinery requires reliable, consistent power. Add to that the perishable nature of the materials being processed and it is easy to understand the importance of a critical power strategy. Large food processing plants easily require 2MW+ of standby power to make sure all the processing equipment stays operational during any power outage.

Utilities

The pumps that move waste through a water treatment plant depend on a consistent supply of electricity to run 24/7/365. In this industry, equipment failure due to power loss can be catastrophic and may eventually lead to a devastating environmental disaster. When the demand for electrical power spikes, electric utilities turn to generators to supplement local generation, assuring reliable power to the 1000’s of customer that depend on it for everyday life. These are only two, small examples of how 2MW+ generators are used on a daily basis to make our lives safe and comfortable.

Universities

Institutions of higher learning are providing a sophisticated learning environment to prepare our students for the new high-tech careers of today. Today’s modern college campus provides luxurious housing, diverse meal options, cutting edge entertainment and sporting venues, advanced computer networks and vehicle charging stations. Not surprising, the need for multi-megawatts of power support to provide a reliable, safe and engaged educational environment has become essential.

Event Venue Broadcast

Even before the current pandemic, there has been a tremendous demand for live feed and streaming of events. For the event venue broadcast industry, nothing is more important than uninterrupted on-site power, independent of the electrical grid. For stadiums, with enormous, complex display systems and more sophisticated showcases of lights and flare, the amount of emergency backup power is easily in the multi megawatt range. A stunning example of the need for backup power in the event broadcast industry happened in 2013, when the Super Bowl in New Orleans had a power outage due to a utility failure. The broadcast learned exactly what 22 minutes of lost air time costs.

Agriculture

Year round indoor growing in commercial warehouses requires massive amounts of electricity. Utility power often times cannot meet the power needs of new commercial growing facilities, and electrical service upgrades from the power utility may be either impossible, or years away from being completed. The high cost and limited availability of utility power has made generators a necessary power alternative for the agriculture industry. Using electrical power to control everything from climate, irrigation pumps, fans, air circulation, lights, cooling, and of course computing, larger indoor growing facilities regularly use 2MW+ of generator power.

Oil and Gas

Oil and gas companies require generator power for many aspects of their business. Large, continuous rated generators are used to power the oilfield equipment in many remote, off-grid locations. Oilfield power can be created using advanced natural gas generators that capture escaping gas from the wellhead, and use it to fuel the generator. The power system is often backed up by additional diesel generators. Power needs in these isolated environments can be surprisingly high for larger operations or when provided with redundancy.

Since 2004, Global Power Supply has been providing power solutions to the industries mentioned above, and many more. Our experience, and variety of equipment that we offer allows us to get the best power solution in place for your business. Please contact us today to get started.