The completion of the first wind-powered underwater data center, located in the Lin-gang Special Area Pilot Free Trade Zone in Shanghai, achieved favorable results.
Subsea data center infrastructure
The project is driven by Shanghai Hicloud Technology and Shenergy Group, representing an investment of 1.6 billion yuan (about 226 million U.S. dollars). The facility has an energy capacity of 24 megawatts and uses more than 95 % of electricity from renewable sources.
One of the main objectives was to achieve a PUE(Power Usage Effectiveness) index of no more than 1.15, well below the 1.25 limit required by the Chinese government for 2025. This indicator measures how efficiently a data center uses its energy, and a lower figure represents a more responsible use of resources.
Moreover, energy savings of 22.8% enable the subsea platform to completely eliminate the use of land and reduce the need for fresh water by more than 90%.
The initiative is in line with the national mega-project “Eastern Data, Western IT“, which aims to decongest urban centers and distribute the processing load to inland regions. In that sense, Shanghai strengthens its strategic role as the digital node in the east of the country.
The construction of the center is the result of a cooperation between Shanghai Hicloud Technology, Shenergy Group, China Telecom Shanghai, INESA and Third Harbor Engineering. The latter announced a next phase of 500 megawatts in wind-powered underwater data projects.
Source and photo: Ling-Gang Special Area (CN) / Ling-Gang Special Area (EN)
