数据中心用电量估算「数据中心发电机组要求」

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数据中心核能供电方式评估

Weighing up the nuclear option for powering data centres

By Fleur Doidge I Mar 22, 2022

译 者 说

随着碳排放监管部门的要求越来越严，数据中心行业在减少碳排放的竞赛中急需安全、稳定、可靠、经济的新能源。这就意味着要客观地看待所有的选择，包括核能。本文简要介绍了核裂变、核聚变、以及利用核废料（乏燃料）发电的小型模块化反应堆(SMR)技术，也为数据中心选择零碳排放供电方式提供了新的思路。

在影片《占领军》的故事情节中，挪威宣布停止石油和天然气，转而支持钍燃料核电，这令从欧盟地区和俄罗斯等国家感到担忧。这并非毫无依据和遥不可及。Uptime Institute负责人丹尼尔·比佐(Daniel Bizo)表示，核能可以帮助减少数据中心及其他地方的排放。

In the political thriller Occupied, Norway declares a halt to oil and gas in favour of thorium-fuelled nuclear energy, alarming countries from the European Union (EU) to Russia. This isn’t so far-fetched: nuclear could help slash emissions in the datacentre and beyond, according to Daniel Bizo, research director at Uptime Institute.

他告诉《计算机周刊》：“随着风能或太阳能等间歇发电量的不断增长，核电做为一种低碳、易调度管理的可再生能源，不仅可以替代传统化石能源，也使得电网供电更加稳定。这种情况的背景是，我们没有按照2030年全球温室气体减排目标推进，也很难达成2050年的长期目标。”

“Nuclear power offers low-carbon dispatchable generation, which can complement renewable energy in displacing fossil fuels, as well as providing stability as the share of intermittent generation like wind or solar grows,” he tells Computer Weekly.“The backdrop to this is that we are not on track with global greenhouse gas emissions reductions to meet 2030 goals, which makes it likely that longer-term goals for 2050 will also be missed by a wide margin.”

比佐指出，随着能源总需求量不断增长，可再生能源使用的增加导致了能源供需不匹配，另一个因素是工业和交通的日益增长的电气化需求，这对减排也很重要。

Bizo points out that the rising use of renewables is making for mismatched supply and demand, especially as total demand grows. Another factor is the increasing electrification of industries and transport, which is also important for cutting emissions.

与此同时，法国发电的碳强度(核电占其总发电量的66%，英国为16%)远远低于其他主要发达经济体。像挪威和冰岛这种水力和地热能占能源主导地位的国家，其电网供电更加稳定。即使是水力资源丰富的瑞典，也使用核能作为稳定的非调峰供电。

Meanwhile, the carbon intensity of power generation in France, with nuclear comprising 66% of its power mix (versus 16% in the UK), is well below other major developed economies. The only better-performing grids are where hydro and geothermal energy dominate, such as Norway and Iceland. Even Sweden, with ample hydro power, uses nuclear for stable baseload capacity.

“从采购绿电进入企业可持续发展报告的那一刻起，它就开始变得重要起来。作为大型能源买家，数据中心运营商通过采购行为向能源市场和监管机构传递信号。” 比佐表示，如果没有能源消费者的支持，核能项目的估值可能会受到影响，甚至会加速核电站的关闭，而不是延长许可证的有效期。由于建设各种新的基础设施是高度碳密集型的，关闭现有的核电站会阻碍可持续发展，他补充说，即使核能已经出现在能源结构中，但迫于公众舆论压力，数据中心运营商在追求可再生能源时并未选择核能。

“The moment electricity purchases enter corporate sustainability reporting it starts mattering. And as large energy buyers, datacentre operators send signals to the energy market and regulators through their purchases,” notes Bizo.Without support from energy consumers, the valuation of nuclear initiatives can be affected, or even hasten the closure of nuclear plants rather than extensions of their licences, he says.Shutting down existing plants hinders sustainable development, not least because building new infrastructure of all kinds is highly carbon-intensive. One danger is that datacentre operators pursue renewables at the expense of nuclear – even when nuclear is already present in the energy mix – sometimes as a response to public opinion, he adds.

变废为宝-乏燃料发电

Turning waste into energy

可持续数字基础设施联盟(SDIA)创始人马克斯·舒尔茨(Max Schulze)建议，数据中心应该是早期的客户和支持者，它们也愿意为小型模块化反应堆(SMR)支付所需费用。SMR模块反应堆能提供60-300兆瓦的电力，可以作为现场发电。

Max Schulze, founder of the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA), suggests datacentres should be early customers and supporters, and outline what they are willing to pay for smaller modular reactors (SMRs), defined as supplying 60-300MW each, that can work as on-site generation.

“全行业对核能的认可以及清晰的核电电费成本，加速了SMR和其他技术的商业化，并根据价格来确定具体的应用场景”。舒尔茨建议，“重要的是，越小的反应堆越好，风险也越小。下一代反应堆实际上可以使用以前反应堆的替换下来的乏燃料。如果我们关注这些方面，就可以推进核能的发展和应用。”

“An industry-wide commitment to nuclear energy, as well as such a commitment to pay X dollars per megawatt hour (MWh), could accelerate commercialisation of SMR and other technologies and set a clear boundary condition around price,” Schulze suggests.“Importantly, smaller reactors are better – they’re less risky. Then, next-generation reactors can actually burn old nuclear waste from previous reactors. So if we focus on those aspects, nuclear can be a step forward.”

一个由罗尔斯·罗伊斯公司(Rolls-Royce)牵头的财团正在开发SMR，每个SMR大约有两个105×68米足球场那么大。这些可以从生产线订购，并像任何其他组件一样安装。罗尔斯·罗伊斯表示，每座反应堆可以提供220兆瓦至440兆瓦的电力——相当于大约150座陆上风力涡轮机——每兆瓦的价格与大型反应堆相当。

A Rolls-Royce-led consortium is developing SMRs, each about the size of two 105x68m football pitches. These can be ordered off a production line and installed like any other piece of kit. Rolls-Royce says each could supply 220MW-440MW – equivalent to around 150 onshore wind turbines – for a similar price per megawatt as a large-scale reactor.

美国初创公司Oklo也正在开发一个1.5MW的微型核反应堆，目标是在2024年之前处理爱达荷国家实验室(INL)使用过的高含量、低浓缩铀(HALEU)乏燃料。据报道，其他公司也在开发小于10MW的反应堆。

US startup Oklo is developing a 1.5MW nuclear microreactor with the goal of processing spent high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) by 2024. Other companies are also reportedly developing <10MW reactors.

核物理学家、核能技术开发公司Newcleo的首席执行官斯特凡诺·布奥诺(Stefano Buono)表示，通过开发处理乏燃料的新方法，使现有的裂变技术变得更安全、更可持续。纽克利奥正在研究如何在第四代现代新型反应堆中使用乏废料作为燃料，而不是采用填埋方式处理钚和其他核废弃物。

Nuclear physicist Stefano Buono, chief executive of nuclear tech developer Newcleo, says even existing fission technologies are becoming safer and more sustainable, through the development of new ways of processing spent fuel. Instead of burying plutonium and other waste products, Newcleo is working on ways to use nuclear waste as fuel in modern Generation IV reactors.Generation IV reactors like Newcleo’s have been recognised by the EU as sustainable energy generation sources. When thorium is used as fuel for fission, for example, the waste can be reprocessed and is cleaner.

像纽克利奥核电站这样的第四代反应堆已经被欧盟认定为可持续发展能源。例如，钍基核废料经过处理，可以变得更加清洁环保。

Buono says Newcleo’s reactors, cooled with liquid lead, can not only use all the uranium mined for the “old” nuclear industry, but can be made smaller and for a lower cost.

布奥诺说，“Newcleo铅冷堆不仅可以将已开采的铀矿用于传统核电设施，而且可以实现更低的成本来制造小型反应堆。我们还将大幅减少核燃料对环境的影响。乏燃料发电技术可以来大幅减少其体积和放射期寿命。”

“We will drastically reduce environmental impact also on the fuel sourcing side. Our technology will induce a very significant reduction in both volume and lifetime of existing waste by transforming this into energy,” says Buono.

能源多样化

Mixing it up

虽然风能、潮汐能、地热能和太阳能丰富了能源结构，但它们都属于间歇发电。而核能的优势之一是，在没有风和阳光时，它可以提供基本负载电力。布奥诺说，核能与其他可再生能源一起作为多样化能源组合的一部分。

While wind, wave, geo and solar are great for the energy mix, their power-generating capacity is intermittent. One of nuclear energy’s strengths is it can provide baseload power when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Nuclear power works alongside these other sources of renewable energy as part of a persified energy mix, says Buono.

布奥诺和舒尔茨认为，核聚变能源有着更多的优点，技术上也取得了显著的发展，但核聚变技术还需要几十年才能实现商业化。

Buono and Schulze agree that nuclear fusion energy, on the other hand, is decades off commercialisation. Strides are being made, however, with considerable advantages in train.

今年2月，欧洲核聚变科学家和工程师在位于英国牛津郡的Culham核聚变能源中心宣布，欧洲联合环(JET)设施产生了59兆焦的持续核聚变能源。在这次实验中，欧洲联合环的平均核聚变功率约为每秒11兆焦，将来就有可能实现安全、高效、低碳的能源供应。欧洲核聚变的首席执行官和项目经理托尼教授说：“欧洲联合环的核聚变燃料是氘(2H)和氚(3H)-两种形式的氢。氚是有两个中子的质子。它是一个β源，半衰期非常短，只有12.5年左右。相比之下，传统裂变堆的燃料铀的放射性衰变速度较慢。在使用的各种同位素中，铀238的半衰期为45亿年，铀235的半衰期为7.04亿年”。

In February, EUROfusion scientists and engineers at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility, currently at the UK’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, announced the generation of 59MJ (megajoules) of sustained fusion energy.During the experiment, JET averaged a fusion power of around 11MW (or MJ) per second, suggesting future potential for safe, efficient, low-carbon energy supply.Tony Donné, professor, CEO and programme manager at EUROfusion, says the fuel JET used for fusion is deuterium (2H) and tritium (3H) – both forms of hydrogen. “Tritium is a proton with two neutrons. It is a BETA emitter and the half-life is very short, only about 12.5 years,” he says.That compares with the slow radioactive decay of the uranium that fuels conventional fission reactors. Of the various isotopes used, uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years and uranium-235 a half-life of 704 million years.

“核聚变反应产物是氦和中子。氦无毒、无放射性，中子也无放射性。但它有很多能量，这些能量会被转换成热能，” 托尼教授解释道：“只需要少量来自核裂变的燃料来为核聚变反应提供燃料，在真空腔中加热到等离子体，通常温度为1.5亿摄氏度。如果发生了什么事情，比如反应堆破裂，冷空气从外部进入，聚变反应就会停止。这与裂变堆的核熔毁情况不一样。你把核聚变燃料转化为能量相对其他发电方式所需的能量要少得多。例如，当我们生产59MJ的聚变能时，我们只需要170微克的核燃料。如果是煤或天然气，你需要4公斤煤或1公斤天然气。最大的问题是，发射出来的中子必须被屏障吸收，然后变成放射性的，这意味着它们需要能迅速“失去”放射性的材料。该项目目前使用的是钢-钒合金，这种合金在50-100年内几乎没有放射性。

“In our fusion reaction, the product is helium and a neutron. Helium is non-toxic and non-radioactive, and the neutron is also not radioactive. But it has a lot of energy, which is converted into heat,” Donné explains.Only a small amount of fuel, sourced from fission, is needed to fuel the fusion reaction, heated to a plasma, typically at 150,000,000ºC in a vacuum chamber. If something happens, such as a breach of the reactor, cold air enters from outside and the reaction stops. There’s no equivalent to the nuclear meltdown situation seen in fission reactors, Donné says.“You convert mass into energy, but you need much less. For instance, when we produced that 59MJ of fusion energy, we only needed 170 micrograms [μg] of fuel.”With coal or gas, you’d need four kilograms of coal or one kilogram of natural gas. The largest issue, says Donné, is that the emitted neutron must be absorbed by a barrier that then becomes radioactive, which means they need materials that “lose” radioactivity quickly. The project is currently working with steel-vanadium alloys that become almost non-radioactive in 50-100 years.

他说：“在停止一个反应堆或更换反应堆内壁大约100年后，你可以再次使用这些材料。需要注意的是不能吸入放射性物质氚。氚飘散至100米外空气中就会被稀释。不像铯或氡，氚在人体器官积聚时，生物半衰期也只有10天。他说，核聚变的安全问题要比核裂变小几个数量级。

“About 100 years after you stop a reactor or after you change the blankets, you can use those materials again,” he says. “You do always have to be careful: with radioactive 3H, you should not inhale it. That said, if it’s in the air, after just 100m it’s very dilute.”Nor does radioactive 3H accumulate in human organs, like caesium or radon does – the biological half-life is 10 days. The safety issues are orders of magnitude less than in fission, he says.

复杂的碳排放计算

Complex carbon equation

托尼教授说，由于核聚变商业发电要等十多年后才会实现，因此目前仍需要依靠现有核设施在内的多种能源。考虑到可再生能源发展包括隐含碳，全部成本可能比想象的要高。

Donné says that, because commercial fusion power is likely over 10 years away, a perse energy mix that includes current nuclear facilities is needed, especially because the full costs of renewables developments, including embodied carbon, can be higher than thought.

德国曾经有30%的能源来自核电，但逐步淘汰核电使其重新依赖煤炭，甚至40%的能源来自风能和太阳能等可再生能源。这意味着发电的总排放量没有减少。
Germany once had a mix including 30% nuclear, but the phase-out has thrown it back to relying on coal, even with 40% of supply from renewables such as wind and solar. This means that overall emissions from electricity generation have not decreased.

“德国曾经有过风能过剩的日子——产生了太多的能源——然后付钱给邻国来获取这些能源。所以在排放方面，我们在整个过渡过程中没有看到任何变化。Uptime 机构的比佐补充说，对核电碳足迹的估计差异很大，尤其是因为供应链长而复杂，以及所做的层层假设。即使每千瓦时100克，核能的二氧化碳排放量也远远低于天然气和煤炭。天然气和煤炭分别排放每千瓦时490克和820克二氧化碳。

“Germany has days when there’s too much wind – creating too much energy – and pays neighbouring countries to take the energy. So in emissions, we didn’t see any change in this whole transition.”Uptime’s Bizo adds that nuclear power carbon footprint estimates vary widely, not least because of the long, complex supply chains and layers of assumptions made. Even at 100g/kWh, nuclear has dramatically lower emissions than natural gas and coal, which emit 490g and 820g of CO2 equivalent/kWh respectively.

联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会(IPCC)采用了一组研究数据的中值，考虑二氧化碳的整个生命周期，核电碳足迹相当于12g/kWh。”他说。“无论如何，改变这些数字并不会真正影响核能利用方面的任何结论。”

“The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] took the median value of a set of studies, putting the total lifecycle CO2-equivalent footprint of nuclear at 12g/kWh,” he says. “Regardless, shifting these numbers does not really affect any conclusion about the role of nuclear.”

就现有发电而言，核能在为数据中心供电时，价格具有竞争力，而使用新型反应堆供电时，价格要贵一些。

For existing power generation, nuclear is priced competitively at the datacentre, whereas new builds using currently established reactor designs are likely to be more expensive.

“芬兰已将密封的核废料储存罐存放在稳定的基岩中，这种方式预计可以提供6500吨乏燃料的存储空间，为所有现存的乏燃料和2100年之前的产生的乏燃料提供足够的存储空间。由于不会产生高放射性乏燃料的下一代反应堆缺乏开发资金，这也会缓解目前乏燃料存储问题。”

“Finland now has nuclear waste storage sealing off canisters in stable bedrock, with capacity to store 6,500 tonnes of spent uranium from Finnish reactors – enough to store all existing spent fuel and all future fuel up to 2100.”“Next-generation reactor development, largely underfunded, has the potential to make this problem even smaller by not producing highly radioactive spent fuel.”

也就是说，随着能源需求的增加，可再生能源在不断溢价。此外，比佐指出，目前，没有大容量长期储能的能力，没有可行的计划来建立更大容量的电网来平衡地区间负载用电需求，也没有使用间歇性的可再生能源的基础设施进行大规模的制氢和储能。

That said, renewables come at a “growing premium” as demand rises. Additionally, there is no grid-scale long-term energy storage, no viable plans for more high-capacity interconnects for load balancing across vast regions, and no scaled-up hydrogen generation and distribution infrastructure that could use intermittent renewables capacity to store energy, notes Bizo.

Infosys 咨询公司执行合伙人、欧洲、中东和非洲能源、公用事业、资源和服务部门主管西蒙·塔克指出，监管部门正对数据中心、云计算和大型企业施加压力，要求它们提供绿色环保证书。

Simon Tucker, managing partner and head of energy, utilities, resources and services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Infosys Consulting, points out that regulatory requirements are pressuring datacentre, cloud and big business to prove their green credentials.

他说：“核能一旦投入使用，实际上是零碳排放的。数据中心可以在城市中心附近建立或运营自己的小型核能或可再生能源。这种经过验证的零能耗供电技术将持续保障数据中心的稳定供电。”

“Nuclear energy, once operational, is effectively net zero in emissions,” he says. “Datacentres could set up or run their own mini-nuclear or renewable energy sources near population centres. This will allow proven net-zero energy capabilities and secure energy supplies in an uncertain world.”

然而，建设大型发电厂可能需要15年时间，因此数据中心运营商不能坐等。塔克指出，转向完全零碳排放意味着需要考量所有的可行性，并在任何可能实施的场合予以应用。

Massive sites for power plants can take 15 years to construct, however, so datacentre operators cannot sit back and wait. A move to net zero means all options need to be considered and applied wherever possible, Tucker points out.