Episode 136 | Smart Sinks | Soluna Computing
If you asked me how much of the renewable energy produced was consumed or purchased, I’d say all of it. So it was a shock to learn that as much as 30% of renewable energy is curtailed or “spilled” during periods of high supply or low demand.
New York-based Soluna Computing believes it has a solution that can make everyone happy. When renewable energy is being produced but can’t find a customer, Soluna’s on-site modular data centers use up the excess power, selling every megawatt.
Soluna’s CEO, John Belizaire, says the company got its start out of necessity. They were building a renewable power project in northern Africa, and there wasn’t enough transmission available at the time.
Computing capacity, as you would imagine, can be variable, depending on the availability of renewable energy. Rather than provide continuous computing services, Soluna specializes in interruptible or “batchable” applications. These can include:
“I wouldn’t be running your Netflix movie,” John says as an example, “But if you’re running the model that’s going to determine what movie or show you suggest I should watch next, that can be done anytime.”
This doesn’t mean the computing capacity completely drops off. Rather, most computing is performed during the curtailments. The modules also consume energy from the farm during normal operations (“subtracted energy”) and pull directly from the grid when there is no power from the farm. John says a global network, or cloud, could provide continuous operations for a client when one facility is not consuming curtailed power.
Soluna’s plan for expansion is built on a two-phase approach. Early facilities focused on crypto-mining, where Soluna was its own customer. John says they plan to take on third-party clients and offer them their “green service” this year.
More than an opportunity for renewable energy producers, John sees Soluna as a way to bring both energy and economic activity to regions that need it most. Their African project was an example.
“If computing can become a new form of [electrical] infrastructure, you can go into places where the power might be stranded,” he says. “You have a catalyzer for not just more renewable energy in the world, but for powering economies to grow.”
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