The Lake Erie Foundation is urging lawmakers in three Great Lakes states to set safeguards ahead of underwater data center proposals, as federal filings detail private studies sought off Maine and Alaska.
John Lipaj, a foundation board member, told The Guardian that the Ohio-based nonprofit had contacted state representatives and senators in New York, Ohio and Michigan to discuss rules before developers propose projects. The foundation says Lake Erie supplies drinking water to 11 million people. Its policy calls for site-specific permitting, monitoring and public disclosure, citing wastewater practices and cumulative effects as concerns.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) notices identify applications from DeepGreen Western Passage SPV LLC for a project near Eastport, Maine, and DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV, LLC, for one in Alaska’s Upper Cook Inlet. Both seek preliminary permits for feasibility studies. If issued, the permits would give the applicants priority to file license applications, but would not authorize construction or site disturbance.
The Maine application describes 34 subsea compute pods, up to 16 turbine-generator units rated at 300 kilowatts each and a 1.5-mile cable. The Alaska proposal lists 66 data center pods, approximately 330 to 350 marine hydrokinetic turbines and a cable about 3.5 miles long.
Developers may be drawn to underwater sites by lower cooling costs and less local opposition, The Guardian reported. In an article for The Conversation, Nir Kshetri of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro wrote that such facilities could use less fresh water and land, while heat discharge, marine impacts and maintenance remain challenges.
Microsoft tested the technology by placing a module containing 864 servers 117 feet underwater near Scotland’s Orkney Islands in spring 2018. The company monitored it for two years and described the project as a feasibility test.
The Guardian reported that an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson expressed general support for data center infrastructure while saying the agency would use its authority to protect water quality. The statement did not address the Maine or Alaska applications. Lipaj told the outlet, “We’re exercising an abundance of caution.”
The Maine comment deadline was 5 p.m. ET Oct. 19, and the Alaska deadline was 5 p.m. ET Monday, Nov. 2. Both have passed. The notices do not set dates for permit decisions.
