Providing a Fault-Tolerant Power Supply to One of the Largest Data Centers in Hong Kong
CLPe has Over 35 Years’ Experience in High Voltage Power Supply
An Uninterrupted Flow of Critical Information
A sophisticated fault-tolerant design was at the heart of the power supply created by CLPe for the Hong Kong Financial Data Center (FDC) operated by NTT Ltd., a leading global technology services company. Its Global Data Center division operates one of the largest data center platforms in the world, with over 160 data centers spanning more than 20 countries and regions, as of January 2020.
The FDC features two data center towers – FDC1 and FDC2 – on a 30,000 square metre plot in Tseung Kwan O, and is one of the largest data centers in Hong Kong with industry-leading space, power, and cooling capacity. CLPe was appointed to provide an 11kV high voltage (HV) power supply to FDC2 including design, equipment sourcing, procurement, installation, and testing and commissioning. It also provided operation and maintenance services after FDC2 went into operation.
Crucially, given the importance of ensuring data preservation, the CLPe power system design included a fault-tolerant design to ensure the center will continue to operate in the event of any component failure.
Challenges and Solutions
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High Fault Tolerance Design
The power supply system for FDC2 was designed with a high fault-tolerance, enabling the system to continue to supply power even when parts of the system fail. This can only be accomplished by experienced project team familiar with data center design and construction. CLPe experts also took into account multiple exceptional scenarios as they built the system. In cases where the cost of making systems sufficiently reliable is very high, CLPe can propose alternative designs to achieve the same level of reliability at a lower cost.
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Tight Project Schedule
Data centers projects generally operate on tight time schedules as they involve construction, integration of a variety of complicated systems, and coordination of project teams from different disciplines including civil and structural engineering, IT, and electrical and mechanical. CLPe has a long track record of dealing with major data center projects and is equipped to coordinate and manage everyone involved with the use of advance planning.
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Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
Data center projects involve the careful integration of the systems of a number of stakeholders including the client, consultants, contractors, and suppliers, who need to be coordinated to create an effective solution. The experienced project team of CLPe communicated with each stakeholder and encouraged their feedback at every step of the FDC2 project to ensure a successful outcome.
Value Created for the Customer
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Full-Circle Solutions
CLPe provides one-stop HV power supply solutions to clients, from initial feasibility study and conceptual and detailed system design, to equipment sourcing and procurement, installation, and testing and commissioning. Its experts understand the critical factors that ensure a project’s successful implementation and oversees every step of the process to ensure the expected results are delivered and that the highest standards in quality control and assurance management are achieved. In the FDC2 project, the CLPe project team even participated in factory tests, witnessing them to ensure the equipment fully complied with the specification requirements prior to installation.
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Efficient Project Management
CLPe draws on its extensive experience in the electrical power industry and hundreds of past projects for critical facilities, including data centers, healthcare facilities, and utilities, to manage projects efficiently and within the estimated schedule and budget. Its wealth of expertise helps reduce project start-up time as there is a shorter learning curve for project team members, and has earned CLPe a solid reputation for being able to consistently complete projects successfully and cost-effectively.