Integrating location planning and spatio-temporal workload shifting for 100 % renewable energy data centers: A case study in Japan
Hiroki Naoi, Rémi Delage, Toshihiko Nakata, Masaki Kozai · Energy Strategy Reviews · 2025
As renewable energy adoption accelerates, resolving spatial and temporal mismatches in power dispatch has become increasingly important. Given that data centers are accounting for a growing share of global power demand, it is imperative to develop a strategic approach to renewable energy procurement that integrates workload shifting to balance supply and demand effectively. This study presents a framework that integrates spatio-temporal workload shifting and location planning to enable cost-effective, 100 % renewable-powered data centers through an 8760-h simulation covering ten regions in Japan. The framework demonstrates the complementarity of spatial and temporal strategies, achieving a 16.9 % reduction in system costs and a 32 % decrease in surplus power supply. Integrating location planning with spatial workload shifting enhances power demand distribution efficiency, achieving a 49 % improvement in the amount of spatial workload shifting. Geographic advantages, including renewable energy potential and cooler regional climates, are utilized to optimize data center locations. This study emphasizes the value of spatio-temporal strategies in overcoming the challenges of renewable energy surpluses and infrastructure overinvestment. The findings provide a robust foundation for sustainable data center development, underscoring the necessity of aligning geographic and temporal dimensions in renewable energy systems. • Spatio-temporal workload shifting is integrated with location planning. • A combination of data centers and renewable energy is simulated to minimize costs. • Reductions are 17.6 % in system costs and 41 % in surplus power. • Synergistic effects are found from location planning and spatial workload shifting. • An approach reflects regional renewable energy and cooling efficiency.