China has completed the construction of the world’s first wind-powered underwater data center (UDC) project, according to Chinese State Media reports.
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The 24MW project is located in the Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and was constructed by HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction with an investment of 1.6 billion yuan (approximately $336 million Australian dollars).
Compared to traditional land-based data centers, the project is designed to use more than 95% renewable electricity, reducing power consumption by 22.8%, and water and land use by 100% and over 90% respectively.
The underwater data center sits about 10 metres below the ocean surface and draws most of its power from an offshore wind farm. Instead of relying on industrial chillers and HVAC, the UDC uses seawater as a passive cooling system. Servers are contained inside pressure-resistant enclosures.
The project is reportedly part of a strategic plan by HiCloud to eventually construct a large-scale underwater data center powered by offshore wind, which could total up to 500MW of capacity.
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