China Launches 24 MW Offshore-Wind-Powered Underwater Datacentre Off Shanghai
The Shanghai Lingang undersea datacentre demonstration project, a joint effort between HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction, launched in May with 24 megawatts capacity.
The GuardianAn underwater datacentre powered by an offshore wind farm has begun operations more than 6 miles (10 km) off the coast of Shanghai. The Shanghai Lingang undersea datacentre demonstration project launched in May and has a capacity of 24 megawatts. It is a joint effort between HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction, a state-owned company.
The facility is submerged 10 metres below the surface and draws power from a nearby offshore wind farm. The datacentre under construction last year was at a shipyard in Nantong, in China's eastern Jiangsu province. According to the Chinese government, the datacentre reduces power consumption by more than one-fifth compared with land-based datacentres.
In traditional land-based datacentres, 25% to 40% of total electricity demand comes from cooling. 6 billion yuan (£177 million) of investment, according to the Chinese government. The Shanghai Lingang project is the first underwater datacentre to be powered by offshore wind.
HiCloud launched the world’s first commercial underwater datacentre in Hainan in 2023. Microsoft launched a pilot underwater datacentre in the waters around Orkney in Scotland in 2018 and reported promising results two years later. 3 trillion litres by 2030.
Underwater datacentres can disturb sediments and heat seawater, creating risks for marine ecosystems that require monitoring. Localised temperature increases from seawater cooling are not expected to be far-reaching.
