Data Centres in a Store-and-Forward Grid: A P·L·T Case

This working paper applies the P·L·T framework (Polycontexturality · Liminality · Transjunction), developed by the author, to the encounter between data centres and the store-and-forward energy grid proposed by the ERC Synergy project SAFEr Grid (RWTH Aachen, Aalborg University). It maps six logics in play (synchronous grid, inverter-based renewables, information, compute demand, territory, institutions), identifies a liminal trap in which data-centre storage, deferrable workloads and waste heat remain unused between energy and information systems, and proposes a third position: the data centre as a store-and-forward node for both energy and computation. The proposal is tested against the five-condition transjunction test, and open questions on deferrability, settlement, data sovereignty and resilience are set out. The extension to data centres is the author's own hypothesis and is not part of the SAFEr Grid project.Keywords: P·L·T; polycontexturality; liminality; transjunction; data centres; store-and-forward grid; energy flexibility; demand response; asynchronous grid; SAFEr Grid; energy transition