PV Integration and Emission Offsets in a Campus Data Center: Evidence from Seven Years of Operation

Abstract

Data centers raise energy and environmental challenges for public and educational institutions. This paper evaluates an institutional data center at the University of Cuenca (Ecuador) supplied in part by a 35 kWp rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system operating without electrical storage since 2018. Seven years of data (2018–2024) were analyzed, including monthly records of electricity consumption, PV generation, and meteorological variables. Renewable-integration indicators are computed (demand coverage and on-site use of PV energy), and avoided CO2 emissions are estimated using official annual grid factors for Ecuador’s national power system, including a sensitivity case for higher carbon intensity. Annual PV generation ranged from 24.3 to 47.3 MWh (34.4 MWh average), while annual data center consumption increased from 63.0 MWh (2018) to 149.3 MWh (2024), with a step change starting in 2020. PV coverage at the shared distribution panel (laboratory + data center) declined from 52.8% (2018) to 23.4% (2023) and 15.6% (2024), driven mainly by demand growth; in 2024, PV output was further reduced by grid outages because anti-islanding protection disconnects a grid-tied, battery-less system. Over 2018–2024, avoided emissions are estimated at 64.9–72.1 tCO2 using national emission factors (0.27–0.30 kg CO2/kWh), and 96.2 tCO2 under a 0.40 kg CO2/kWh scenario. The results support the green data center agenda by informing planning decisions for integrating on-site renewable generation in data centers, with emphasis on finer submetering, energy storage, and PV capacity expansion as digital workloads grow.