Custom Generator Solutions for Data Centers in Reunion Island

At Genesal Energy, we have a strong presence in the Data Center sector, both in Spain and in the foreign market, as internationalization is one of the hallmarks of the company.

One of our latest jobs has taken us to Reunion Island, in the Indian Ocean. In this case, the project consisted of the manufacture and supply of two special generators to guarantee, at all times and in any situation, the operation of a Data Processing Centre (DPC) or Data Centre on this paradisiacal French island located to the east of Madagascar.

Why are generator sets an essential equipment?

All Data Centers need emergency generators for a very simple reason: they store something as valuable as information. Therefore, in the event of a mains failure, they have to be protected; otherwise the millions of data that these buildings house would be lost, and the consequences would be disastrous, both economically and reputationally.

As our Engineering Department explains, “DPCs must have a support infrastructure which guarantees the operation of the systems in the event of any unexpected problem, and this precisely the function of the generator sets we have supplied: they provide uninterrupted power to servers, switches, routers and other components of the system”.

Maximum reliability

Maximum reliability was an essential condition during the manufacturing process of the equipment that we supplied for the Reunion Island Data Center. Both generator sets were mounted in a 5500mm soundproof canopy and included an additional 2200mm sheet metal module that housed a 4000L tank inside to be assembled on site. Once attached, each canopy and the corresponding additional module looked like a single block of more than 7700mm. This module was specifically designed for this project, as it was mandatory that both canopy and fuel tank module looked like a single unit.

Comply with French regulations

The two generator sets were manufactured in accordance with the criteria required by the French standard NF-E-37-312, which implied carrying out a series of additional steps, including the following:

Provide dual starting system and batteries, bearing in mind the space that such system occupies inside the canopy and without count on any available supports.
Designing a bidirectional transfer system allowing any of the two generator sets to use the other’s fuel.

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Characteristics

4,000L approved double-walled (steel-steel), aerial fabricated tank.
Leakage sensor in fuel tank.
Additional canopy to house the 4000L tank.
Air vent ducts
Diesel overfill valve at the tank inlet, to prevent spills in the event of remote refuelling.
Engine heating resistance in the antifreeze system to keep the engine at an optimum temperature for starting
Manual 3 pole breaker
IB-lite module for TCP/IP communication
Painting as per the customer’s specific requirements
- Compliance with the French standard NF-E-37-312, involving:
  - Dual starting system with two electric starter motors and dual set of batteries.
  - Battery disconnector.
  - Double set of starter motors to perform alternation from the controller.
  - Double set of starting battery chargers
  - Diode bridge to separate starter battery sets from the charging alternator.
Input/output expansion module.
Remote annunciator of 16 alarms.
Emergency start controller.
Key for selection of emergency or normal controller.
Control batteries
Control battery charger.
Motorized fuel cut-off valve (safety), manual, accessible from the outside.
Bidirectional fuel transfer system between genset 1 and genset 2, manually activated through a button or selector. In this way, each generator can have 8000L of fuel available as required. A transfer system was installed in each generator, and it will manually operated by plant personnel.