Volume 60

Evolutionary Game Analysis of Green Electricity Adoption in Data centers: A Case Study in Qinghai’s Renewable Utilization Context Yujuan Fang , Jin Ni , Laijun Chen

Abstract

Data centers, as rapidly growing contributors to
global electricity demand, play a critical role in deep
decarbonization. Meanwhile, regions rich in renewable
energy, exemplified by Qinghai province, China, face high
curtailment rates, with wind and solar curtailment
exceeding 7.3% and 8.9% respectively in 2022. This paper
proposes a strategic solution: integrating data centers
into industrial parks rich in renewable energy to form a
localized green energy consumption ecosystem. This
approach will not only increase the utilization rate of
renewable energy, but also open up new ways for
attracting high-quality industrial investment to
underdeveloped regions with abundant renewable
energy, like Qinghai. The core difficulty lies in designing
mechanisms to incentivize data center investments,
while capturing the nonlinear feedback between policy
choices and market adoption. To investigate the strategic
interactions among key stakeholders, including the
government, state grid corporation, and data center
investors, this study develops a three-dimensional
evolutionary game model that includes carbon penalties,
renewable energy subsidies, and consumer incentives.
This study sets up a case of building data centers in
Qinghai province for calculation and analysis. The results
show that subsidies for investors significantly accelerate
the adoption of renewable energy by state grid
corporation, while modest upfront support for data
center investment can effectively stimulate enterprise
participation and accelerate green uptake on the
demand side. This study offers policy framework and
institutional design path for regions with high power
curtailment rates, such as Qinghai province, emphasizing
the important role of these regions in China’s national
energy transformation and highlighting their potential to
attract green digital infrastructure investment.

Keywords green data centers, renewable energy, evolutionary game theory, policy incentives, replicator dynamics