BESS is Rapidly Becoming Critical Infrastructure for Data Centers

When a data center client in Texas recently needed to assess potential noise impacts of integrating a BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) as part of its onsite power generation strategy, GZA delivered the assessment based on our success with similar BESS and data center projects across the country. With typical sound levels ranging from 70 to 75 decibels, BESS installations represent a lesser but still meaningful potential noise source at data centers, especially in consideration of the current trend toward greater reliance on BESS as an integral component of data center power systems.    

BESS adoption at data centers was a prominent topic at DCD Connect New York and the PA Data Center & Energy Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh. Data centers are increasingly deploying BESS to improve resilience, manage operating costs, and reduce emissions, as detailed below:

1.  AI training workloads create millisecond-scale load swings that can damage equipment and threaten uptime. BESS absorbs these rapid surges and smooths demand before they reach critical systems.

2. Operators are shifting toward hybrid onsite generation—pairing gas turbines with solar or wind plus BESS—to diversify capacity and manage fuel costs. During low-demand periods such as startup testing or overnight operations, facilities can run on stored energy for one to four hours, then recharge from solar during the day. This approach cuts carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and other emissions, directly improving local air quality.

3. When stored renewable energy serves load, BESS reduces dependence on natural gas and diesel from both onsite generators and the grid. Lower fossil-fuel consumption improves the overall economics of hybrid power strategies and compounds the emissions benefits described above.

GZA delivers multi-disciplinary engineering consulting for BESS and hybrid power projects that support resilient, cost-effective, and lower-carbon data center operations, including geotechnical, acoustic, and environmental services. Find out more at https://www.gza.com/insights/read-gzas-data-center-qualifications