Carbon-Aware Computing in a Network of Data Centers: A Hierarchical Game-Theoretic Approach

Abstract

Over the past decade, the continuous surge in cloud computing demand has intensified data center workloads, leading to significant carbon emissions and driving the need for improving their efficiency and sustainability. This paper focuses on the optimal allocation problem of batch compute loads with temporal and spatial flexibility across a global network of data centers. We propose a bilevel game-theoretic solution approach that captures the inherent hierarchical relationship between supervisory control objectives, such as carbon reduction and peak shaving, and operational objectives, such as priority-aware scheduling. Numerical simulations with real carbon intensity data demonstrate that the proposed approach successfully reduces carbon emissions while simultaneously ensuring operational reliability and priority-aware scheduling.