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So far, our Diesel Dilemma series has covered the weather, truck math, supply chain, and the logistics footprint of diesel backup power for large loads. But after exploring those potential roadblocks, there’s one more threat to your resiliency plan that’s often overlooked: supplier reliability during a crisis. You may have contracts, retainers, and “priority” service agreements. But let’s talk about what loyalty looks like when the region is in turmoil, and everyone is calling for diesel deliveries at the same time to replenish onsite storage when it runs dry.

If you’ve ever tried to lock in guaranteed fuel supply during a regional crisis, you quickly learn that contracts and promises mean very little when the entire map is red. And that reality comes into sharp focus when you start looking at what it actually takes to store and move diesel fuel onsite.

Diesel backup for a 500 MW data center is tricky enough on its own and practically impossible to manage even when the weather cooperates. Diesel backup gets significantly more complex when you look beyond your facility’s gate and into the regional supply chain. Even if your site can handle 200+ truck deliveries in a short resupply window, the question becomes: can your suppliers secure the diesel fuel you need?

In our last article, we looked at what it takes to power a 500 MW data center for 48 hours during extended outages caused by extreme weather. But the obstacles and delays related to fuel deliveries after a major storm are only half the story. The real challenge comes with getting enough diesel on site fast enough to keep the power on, even when the roads are clear. Let’s dig into the delivery side of the equation, what it would take to pull it off, and whether it’s even realistic at this scale.

Energy planning in Utah must navigate the tension between near-term needs and long-term objectives. On one hand, there is an urgent push to add capacity quickly to meet large loads. On the other, long-term investments in dispatchable and low-carbon resources such as geothermal, nuclear, and other emerging technologies are recognized as essential for the decades ahead.

For a power-intensive facility like a 500 MW data center, diesel backup might come with 48 hours of onsite fuel storage. And at first glance, that sounds like a reliable strategy for protecting against power outages. Two days of fuel leaves plenty of buffer, right? But when you consider how long the bigger storms and the grid’s recovery can last, 48 hours of fuel storage could be a gamble you don’t want to make.

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