Integrated Power and Energy Management for Modern Data Centers from Trusted Power Experts
Accelerated data center deployment often creates a web of complexity, with numerous siloed control systems managing individual processes. Emerson’s industry-leading Ovation™ Automation Platform—trusted worldwide for 20% of global and 50% of North American power generation, with over 10GW of data center power capacity under contract—brings simplicity and reliability to this challenge. The unified platform coordinates power generation, storage, and electrical systems by seamlessly integrating individual power island assets and supporting systems, delivering a cohesive view of site-wide data and operations.
Integrated Power Generation & Microgrid Control for Data Centers
Gain intelligent insights across your data center complex using Emerson’s innovative, integrated Ovation Automation Platform that efficiently controls, monitors, and optimizes energy production and performance while balancing load demands.
Meet availability requirements with low-risk, unified technologies that go beyond traditional distributed control. The Ovation Automation Platform combines embedded AI capabilities, advanced applications, simulation tools, and cybersecurity solutions—supported by comprehensive lifecycle programs—to optimize generation, distribution, and consumption across data center operations.
Efficient, Secure & Redundant Energy Management for Critical Reliability
A unified, fault-tolerant platform integrates supervisory control of generation, storage, and microgrid assets, optimizing the balance of power and load to help achieve 99.99% reliability.
- CAPABILITY
Continuously manage and coordinate distributed energy resources, backup generation, storage systems and critical loads through a single operational environment - HOW IT WORKS
Uses a digitally orchestrated power system and proven control strategies to deliver real-time, synchronized responses needed to manage large, rapidly changing data center demands. - VALUE
Maintain power stability and operational resilience through changing microgrid or grid conditions, fluctuating demand and power events, while providing the fast response needed to support dynamic, high-density data center workloads
- CAPABILITY
Balance energy supply and demand across the facility while aligning power availability with operational priorities - HOW IT WORKS
Combines real-time monitoring, supervisory control, optimization, and forecasting to coordinate power resources, manage loads, and support efficient asset dispatch - VALUE
Maximize available electrical capacity, improve energy utilization, and reduce the risk of power constraints impacting growth
- CAPABILITY
Leverage forecasting and scenario-based analysis to anticipate demand, evaluate operating strategies, and prepare for future capacity requirements - HOW IT WORKS
Uses a digitally orchestrated power system and proven control strategies to deliver real-time, synchronized responses needed to manage large, rapidly changing data center demands. - VALUE
Maintain power stability and operational resilience through changing microgrid or grid conditions, fluctuating demand and power events, while providing the fast response needed to support dynamic, high-density data center workloads
- CAPABILITY
Provide a common operational picture across power generation, storage, distribution, and facility energy systems - HOW IT WORKS
Connects intelligence from field devices, controllers, operators, and enterprise-level systems to deliver coordinated visibility and decision support across all operational layers - VALUE
Accelerate decision-making, improve situational awareness, and streamline coordination between operations teams
- CAPABILITY
Support evolving energy strategies, renewable integration, and facility expansions without requiring a complete platform overhaul - HOW IT WORKS
Employs a scalable, modular architecture that easily accommodates additional assets, changing operating requirements, and growing site portfolios - VALUE
Scale operations faster while maintaining consistency, reliability, and operational control across facilities and campuses
- CAPABILITY
Move beyond static backup strategies by actively managing available energy resources and resilience capacity in real time - HOW IT WORKS
Coordinates utility power, backup generation, energy storage, and distributed energy resources as an integrated resilience strategy, enabling dynamic allocation of reserve capacity when conditions require - VALUE
Strengthen business continuity, optimize redundancy investments, and improve readiness for both planned and unexpected event
- CAPABILITY
Accelerate the path from design to deployment with proven energy management strategies, expert project execution, and operational validation tools - HOW IT WORKS
Combines engineering expertise, proven deployment methodologies, and digital twin simulations to validate designs and operating strategies before implementation - VALUE
Reduce deployment risk, shorten commissioning timelines, accelerate time-to-capacity, and bring critical power resources online faster with greater confidence
Balancing Power Generation and Load Demand with Proven Strategies
Standard Integrated Functions
- Data acquisition
- Process graphics
- Alarm management
- Data archiving
- Report generation
Energy Management
- Optimization of power production, power purchasing, energy storage and demand response
- Protection from high macrogrid demand charges
- Management of energy flow and voltage regulation at the point of common coupling
Electrical Control
- Breaker control and interfacing with IEDs
- Load-shedding (demand management)
- Voltage control
- Generator VAR control
- Transformer tap changer control
- Capacitor bank control
- Grid synchronization
Explore Enabling Ovation Technologies
PRECISE CONTROL, OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
The Ovation Automation Platform is proven technology specifically designed to optimize critical power and water operations with precise process and equipment controls.
Ovation Microgrid Controller
Cost-effective management and automated control of a microgrid’s distributed energy assets and macrogrid interconnections to satisfy power demand and maintain stable operations.
Ovation Distributed Control System
For decades, the industry-leading Ovation Automation Platform has helped customers deliver reliable power, green electricity, and clean water. The Ovation 4.0 release advances this legacy with a future-ready, AI-enabled, scalable, and software-defined architecture.
Ovation Digital Twin Simulation
With Ovation power plant simulation, operators can validate new control strategies before deployment, reducing plant incidents, maintenance costs, and unplanned trips while improving safety and availability.
Power Island Segments
Deep Dives: Hyperscale Resilience & Microgrid Architecture
Optimizing outside-the-fence power infrastructure requires a seamless blend of grid-edge control and industrial automation. Explore our technical articles and case studies to see how the Ovation Automation Platform ensures grid-to-chip reliability or explore the core capabilities of the Ovation Microgrid Controller to learn more about the underlying technology platform.
Solving Data Center Energy Challenges: Technical FAQs
Emerson’s energy management (a.k.a. power management) solution provides power‑systems control to coordinate on‑site generation, battery energy storage (BESS), renewables, and electrical controls, maintaining uptime, stability, and efficient energy performance. This includes both grid‑connected and non‑grid‑connected (islanded) power configurations supporting mission‑critical and hyperscale data centers.
A microgrid controller orchestrates distributed energy resources (DERs) such as generators, BESS, and renewables to balance load and generation, manage transitions between operating modes, and maintain electrical stability. It supports grid‑tied, islanded, or hybrid configurations depending on site design.
BESS delivers fast‑response power for ride‑through, peak shaving, renewable smoothing, and energy shifting. In islanded or multi‑island sites, BESS also helps stabilize frequency, voltage, and transient events, strengthening overall site reliability even without a grid connection. The Emerson BESS EMS solution is specifically designed to address this.
Energy management optimizes how generation and storage assets are dispatched to meet load demands and efficiency objectives. Electrical control manages breakers, switchgear, load transfer, motor controls, and protection schemes across the power distribution network. Both apply to grid‑connected and isolated power islands, ensuring safe, reliable uptime.
Yes. The Ovation Automation Platform integrates individual power island assets - whether grid‑tied, stand‑alone, or partially isolated - into a unified view of generation, storage, and electrical operations. It works across mixed vendors and architectures to coordinate dispatch, protection, and energy performance.
Predictive analytics and simulation models forecast load, detect anomalies, and evaluate operating strategies in complex power configurations. Digital twins help operators plan and optimize islanded or multi‑island power systems by safely testing responses to disturbances, transitions, and DER dispatch scenarios.
The Ovation Automation Platform includes built‑in cybersecurity tools and dedicated services designed specifically for power and energy infrastructure. These capabilities help safeguard generation, storage, and electrical control assets from cyberattacks through hardened control architectures, secure communication pathways, continuous monitoring, and compliance‑aligned security practices. These protections apply across grid‑connected, islanded, and multi‑island power configurations to ensure the reliability and integrity of critical energy operations.
