Service-Aware Hosting Capacity Assessment of Edge Data Centers with Workload Flexibility

The growing demand for edge computing, content delivery, and AI services is driving the interconnection of edge data centers (DCs) with distribution networks. Before interconnection, utilities evaluate how much DC capacity can be accommodated without violating feeder current and voltage limits. Fixed peak load representations can overlook service dependent demand patterns, cooling related facility demand, and delay tolerant computing tasks. This paper develops a hosting capacity (HC) assessment model for edge DCs with shiftable workload scheduling. Three representative types are considered: mobile edge computing (MEC), content delivery network (CDN), and AI DCs. Facility demand is modeled by combining fixed base demand, service driven demand, prescribed cooling-overhead coefficient, and a shiftable workload component. Workload execution is optimized under arrival causality, maximum delay, daily energy balance constraints, and the resulting active and reactive loads are embedded in a distribution power flow model. Compared with the baseline without load shifting, the maximum bus level HC gain on the IEEE 33-bus system reaches 4.46% for MEC DCs and 9.89% for AI DCs, while CDN case shows negligible gain under the assumed cache management windows.