Who needs data centers in space when they can float offshore?

The article discusses a novel approach to addressing the growing power demands of AI data centers by situating them offshore, leveraging consistent wind power and natural cooling from seawater. A startup plans to deploy a floating data center off the UK coast by 2028, powered by a 15-18 megawatt offshore wind turbine feeding a 10-12 megawatt data center. This offshore model offers several advantages: proximity to a reliable power source, reduced opposition from local communities concerned about noise and pollution, and simplified cooling due to cold seawater—an issue that is particularly challenging for proposed orbital data centers. However, the offshore environment also presents significant challenges, including the corrosive nature of seawater and the need to secure equipment against movement caused by waves. While submerged servers avoid direct wave impact, they must be robustly protected. The concept is not entirely new; Microsoft experimented with underwater data centers off Scotland in 2018, achieving low failure rates by using inert nitrogen gas to protect servers.