Converter-Aware Coordination of Computing Flexibility in Behind-the-Meter Data Centers
Data centers are emerging as large electricity consumers whose demand can be reshaped through workload scheduling. However, computing flexibility in behind-the-meter facilities does not automatically translate into electrically realizable power flexibility. Ignoring converter and network operating limits may cause converter overloads, protection trips, and interruptions to power supply and computing services. This paper proposes a converter-aware intraday scheduling methodology. First, a task-level mixed-integer linear formulation preserves synchronous training configurations and completion requirements, while Minkowski-sum aggregation and Shapley--Folkman convexification yield a linear inference-pool representation without unit-level binary variables. The latter admits a conditional relative relaxation-gap bound that decreases inversely with pool size. Second, a four-node electrical model links computing demand, on-site injections, and grid exchange to converter and network limits through lifted voltage variables and second-order cone relaxation. Finally, a mixed-integer model coordinates workloads, photovoltaic generation, energy storage, and grid purchases. Case studies show that electrical limits reshape scheduling and renewable utilization, while on-site resources reduce grid dependence. Under the studied conditions, fixed training cannot support full inference service within voltage limits, whereas coordinated scheduling achieves negligible inference shortage and passes verification against the original alternating-current model. These findings demonstrate the role of computing--electrical coordination in realizing the operational value of workload flexibility.