Reference News, October 20 report: According to the German website "China Platform," it is expected that China's first submarine data center using offshore wind power directly will be put into use near Shanghai in October. The project is seen as a technological breakthrough: it is the first time that the entire server has been placed underwater and powered by an offshore wind farm.
The servers inside the data center will be cooled by seawater from the outside, eliminating energy-consuming air conditioning facilities.
Peter Fintner, a technical expert at Capgemini Technology, said in an interview: "In an era of sharp growth in demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing, this technology is definitely worth our serious attention." He believes that although it may seem unreasonable to submerge large amounts of expensive and sensitive electronic equipment underwater, the concept can indeed solve a major challenge: how to cool efficiently and at low cost.
The report states that Chinese data centers have a very high energy demand. The government is trying to make the expansion of digital infrastructure more in line with climate protection requirements. Microsoft once made a similar attempt, which attracted global attention. This project called "Natick" showed that servers could operate underwater, but the experiment was halted a few years later.
Fintner said that China is trying to expand the application of this theory based on these experiences. In the future, offshore wind farms, deep-sea technologies, and cloud infrastructure will be more closely integrated. According to official planners, submarine data centers may be built in areas with abundant wind resources but scarce and expensive land. At the same time, China demonstrates its innovative strength through this technology, which is both a signal to international competitors and a signal to its domestic industry.
For China, the submarine data center is first an experiment to verify whether the idea of transferring computing power to the sea is technically and economically feasible. Many experts believe that this technology is likely to be used as a special solution in coastal areas or particularly energy-intensive projects. (Translated by Zhong Sirui)
Overlooking the East Sea Bridge Offshore Wind Farm in Shanghai (Xinhua News Agency photo).
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