Microsoft has begun to create a team that will deal with the issues of improving energy infrastructure in order to provide power supply to the growing number of data centers in the context of intensifying restrictions on electricity supplies, writes Datacenter Dynamics.
Microsoft has published a vacancy of the Director for Power Supply Technologies in North America, as well as the senior manager of the Global Energy Transfer Technology Program in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Both positions relate to the office of the technical director of the Microsoft unit for cloud operations and innovation (CO+I) in the USA. New employees should engage in “developing a technological plan for introducing new technologies for global markets”, determine the readiness of technologies for implementation and determine the company’s development strategy in this area.
The first vacancy applicant must “have knowledge in the development of energy transfer strategies for the United States market in accordance with Microsoft business centers.” Its task is to develop innovative solutions together with partners to ensure sufficient energy capacities. The growing park of the Microsoft data centers. In turn, the senior manager will have to “develop innovative solutions to support the energy infrastructure, as well as provide support in the development of a strategy for introducing new technologies.”
Image source: American Public Power Association/unsplash.com
The company also posted a job opening for an Energy Technology Program Manager. He will be tasked with “supporting the technical assessment of advanced energy and infrastructure technologies to power Microsoft cloud-enabled data centers.” The job description states that the manager will also “be responsible for supporting the team responsible for the research and development of various energy technologies in the pre-commercial stages.”
All three positions are new – there were no such positions in the staffing table before. The team will work in collaboration with Erin Henderson, Director of Nuclear Acceleration, hired last year, and P. Todd Noe, Director of Nuclear and Power Innovation. Henderson and Noe were instrumental in Microsoft’s deal with Constellation to revive the 837-MW Three Mile Island nuclear plant, which will power the company’s data centers. Microsoft also intends to use Helion fusion reactors, but has not yet announced any major small modular reactor (SMR) deals.
The US Department of Energy estimates that by 2028, data centers could account for 12% of the country’s energy consumption. This estimate comes before the announcement of the $500 billion Stargate project, which will put significant pressure on the US energy mix. Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion in data center AI this year. Last year, the company partnered with Brookfield to invest $10 billion in construction between 2026 and 2030. large wind and solar power plants with a total capacity of up to 10.5 GW in the USA and Europe.