Inner Mongolia data center banks on Cummins standby power

Supply: 

• 74 x Cummins C2500D5A high-voltage diesel generator sets 
• Supply, installation, testing and acceptance

Driving a data powerhouse

In 2022, as part of its move toward digital transformation, the Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) began constructing a massive new data center in the Horinger New Area of Hohhot, the provincial capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A key element in China’s strategy of channeling its computing resources from east to west, the finished New Area will serve as the country’s green computing powerhouse. The zone will house data centers built by several of China’s major bank, including AgBank, all of which will leverage the region’s rich natural resources and cool climate to achieve maximum energy efficiency and sustainability.

Once complete, the new AgBank data center will be one of the largest in China’s financial industry, with the capability to deliver data analysis and storage on a mammoth scale. From the outset, AgBank knew the project would necessitate not only a vast standby power system to ensure absolute energy continuity, but a dependable power solutions provider with the skills and experience to build it efficiently, reliably and to schedule.

AgBank turned to Cummins China, headquartered in Beijing, to meet the challenge. The power company had the advanced power generation technologies—and the global reach and local support—needed to deliver. Cummins’ proven track record in supplying sustainable power solutions to mission-critical data centers was also instrumental in its securing the contract.

Unprecedented backup capacity for a single China data center

Cummins China was tasked with supplying standby power for the first phase of the new data center, which covered a construction area of 209,000 sq m and included six computer room buildings, two warehouses, a support building, two substations, and four power buildings. The finished backup plant also had to align with the wider project quality objectives of meeting China’s construction, design and energy-efficiency standards, including its 3-Star Green Building Standard; and complying with the requirements for national standard Class A and Tier 4 computer rooms.

74 units across four buildings

Working with local Cummins distributors, Cummins China supplied and installed 74 high-voltage Cummins C2500D5A 10 kV 50 Hz diesel generator sets. This represents the largest number of units provided within any single project in China and, with an installed total capacity of 122.4 MW, the biggest single power volume supply in the country’s financial industry. Equipped with a heavy-duty engine, each C2500D5A generator set is a fully integrated power system designed for optimum performance, reliability and versatility in standby applications.

The installation work saw the generator sets each housed in their own independent noise-reduction rooms located across all four (C1, C2, D1 and D2) 3-story power buildings. Six backup power supply systems employing an N+1 configuration were set up, with four systems of 12 paralleled generator sets in C1 and D1, and two systems of 13 paralleled generator sets in C2 and D2.

Rigorous trials to ensure top performance

With installation complete, each of the generator sets was put through its paces during a comprehensive and rigorous testing and acceptance phase. Cummins technicians worked closely with other project stakeholders and a third party testing institution to implement and witness a 168-hour continuous load test of the units under rated power. The program was run according to the highest standards and strict parameters required by the customer, with all tests successfully completed. The finished standby power plant now stands at the ready: ensuring that this particular part of the AgBank data center can rely on power availability and continuity at all times.

“Backup power is crucial for data centers, especially in China’s financial industry systems, which have extremely high requirements for the reliability and stability of backup power supplies. We delivered 74 generator sets to meet AgBank’s needs and schedule: a massive operation requiring formidable resources and orchestration. We’re confident our success will help cement our position as a go-to power provider in China’s financial industry.”

Chris Hao

Upstream Influence
Manager/PG genset sales
Cummins China