China's underwater data center off the coast of Shanghai combines deep-sea cooling with offshore wind power to eliminate freshwater use

China's underwater data center off the coast of Shanghai combines deep-sea cooling with offshore wind power to eliminate freshwater use. [1, 2]

Key Details of the Project

• Location: About 10 kilometers off the coast of Shanghai in the Lingang area, sitting approximately 10 to 35 meters beneath the surface. [1, 2, 3]
• Power Source: Over 95% of the electricity is supplied directly by nearby offshore wind turbines via subsea cables. [1, 2]
• Cooling Method: It uses surrounding seawater and a copper-pipe heat exchange system, dropping traditional mechanical air conditioning and using zero fresh water. [1, 2, 3]
• Capacity and Cost: The project is scaled for a total capacity of 24 megawatts (with initial operational phases active) and cost roughly $226 million. [1, 2, 3]
• Efficiency Gains: It reduces overall electricity consumption by about 22.8% compared to land-based facilities and cuts land use by over 90%. [1, 2]
• Broader Context: While commercialized here in Shanghai (and earlier tested in Hainan and by Microsoft's experimental Project Natick), critics and marine experts also raise potential environmental questions regarding local heat discharge into the ocean ecosystem and the difficulty of underwater maintenance. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

You can read more about the rollout through The Guardian or ESG News. [1, 2]

If you'd like, I can provide details on how marine heat discharge is monitored or compare its energy efficiency against traditional land-based AI data centers.