By incorporating distributed generation at strategic critical locations, we can create independence from aging power infrastructures and sustain critical loads and our digital society indefinitely without stressing the power grid further. In the interim, the power grid can continue to support its original loads: lighting, manufacturing, and convenience power.
The world uses approximately 8000 gigawatts of energy on a peak day. Approximately 10 percent of that energy powers and cools critical infrastructures and other digital loads. Analysts predict significant growth rates in power requirements by 2010, given the increasing power density of processors and servers.