Open Access

ARTICLE

Reconciling Economy, Carbon and Resilience in Data-Center Integrated Energy Systems: A Normal-Stress Separated Planning Framework with Risk-Aware Scenarios

Xueyong Tang^1,2, Dongjunming Yang², Junqiu Fan², Qingsheng Li², Xutao Zhang^3,*
1 College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
2 Guizhou Power Grid Co., Ltd., Guiyang, China
3 Yanzhao Electric Power Laboratory, North China Electric Power University, Baoding, China
* Corresponding Author: Xutao Zhang. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advanced Solar Energy Utilization and Multi-Energy Complementary Systems)

Energy Engineering https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2026.088708

Received 08 July 2026; Accepted 03 September 2026; Published online 10 September 2026

Abstract

Data-center integrated energy systems require coordinated planning of cost, carbon and reliability, yet conventional methods often evaluate reliability under the same grid-connected dispatch used for annual accounting, causing risk objectives to collapse to zero. This paper proposes a risk-aware bi-level planning framework with separated normal and stress dispatch. In the scenario stage, an interpretable electricity-cooling model and a leakage-controlled random forest identify propagation sensitivity and abnormal cooling residuals. The prior-risk components are aggregated and reduced by category-preserving clustering, retaining risk representatives alongside typical days. In the planning stage, a genetic algorithm optimizes capacities of components in the upper level. In the lower level, normal dispatch computes annual cost and emissions, while stress dispatch, with a derated grid limit and component availability coefficients, evaluates reliability indices. For the grid-constrained case study, the method yields 14 non-dominated designs spanning zero to non-zero risk. Eliminating stress-state shedding from the minimum-cost design requires a 2.61% annual-cost premium; the balanced compromise achieves zero risk with a 36.10% emission reduction at an 11.25% cost premium. Zero-risk designs appear across a broad economic-carbon range, indicating that resilience alone does not determine a unique optimal capacity mix. The posterior risk is electrical rather than cooling-driven, with active components distinguishing shortage magnitude, interruption duration and tail severity. The framework restores an informative reliability dimension and quantifies the investment required to reconcile economic, low-carbon and resilience objectives in data-center integrated energy systems.

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Keywords

Data center integrated energy system; normal-stress separated dispatch; risk-aware scenario generation; bi-level optimization; resilience premium

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