An Underwater Data Center in San Francisco Bay? Regulators Say Not So Fast

NetworkOcean isn’t unsocial successful its ambitions. Founded successful 2021, US-based Subsea Cloud operates astir 13,500 machine servers successful unspecified underwater locations successful Southeast Asia to service clients successful AI and gaming, says the startup’s laminitis and CEO, Maxie Reynolds. “It’s a nascent market,” she says. “But it’s presently the lone 1 that tin grip the existent and projected loads successful a sustainable way.”

Subsea secured a licence for each tract and uses remotely operated robots for maintenance, according to Reynolds. It plans to occurrence up its archetypal underwater GPUs adjacent twelvemonth and besides is considering backstage sites, which Reynolds says would easiness permitting complexity. Subsea claims it isn’t importantly expanding h2o temperature, though it hasn’t published autarkic reviews.

NetworkOcean besides believes it volition origin negligible heating. “Our modeling shows a 2-degree Fahrenheit alteration implicit an 8-square-fot area, oregon a 0.004-degree Fahrenheit alteration implicit the aboveground of the body” of water, Mendel says. He draws assurance from Microsoft’s uncovering that water a fewer meters downstream from its investigating warmed lone slightly.

Protected Bay

Bay Area projects tin summation h2o temperatures by nary much than 4 degrees Fahrenheit astatine immoderate clip oregon place, according to Mumley, the ex-water committee official. But 2 biologists who spoke to WIRED accidental immoderate summation is concerning to them due to the fact that it tin incubate harmful algae and pull invasive species.

Shaolei Ren, a University of California, Riverside, subordinate prof of electrical and machine engineering who’s studying the biology interaction of AI, compares plans for an underwater information halfway of NetworkOcean’s announced capacity, erstwhile moving afloat utilized, to operating astir 300 chamber abstraction heaters. (Mendel disputes the concern, citing Project Natick’s seemingly minimal impact.) A fewer years ago, a project that projected utilizing San Francisco Bay h2o to chill a information halfway connected onshore failed to triumph support aft nationalist concerns were voiced, including astir temperatures.

The San Francisco Bay is connected mean astir a twelve feet deep, with salty Pacific Ocean h2o flowing successful from nether the Golden Gate Bridge mixing with caller runoff from a immense swath of Northern California. Experts accidental it isn’t wide whether immoderate determination successful the expanse would beryllium suitable for much than a tiny objection betwixt its muddy, shallow, salty, and turbulent parts.

Further, securing permits could necessitate proving to astatine slightest 9 regulatory bodies and respective captious nonprofits that a information halfway would beryllium worthwhile, according to spokespeople for the agencies and 5 experts successful the bay’s politics. For instance, under the law administered by the Conservation and Development Commission, a project’s nationalist payment indispensable “clearly exceed” the detriment, and developers indispensable amusement there’s nary suitable determination connected land.

Other agencies see discarded emissions and harm to the region’s fistful of endangered food and birds (including the infamous delta smelt). Even a impermanent task requires signoff from the US Army Corps of Engineers, which reviews obstruction to vessel and vessel traffic, and the h2o board. “For example, temporarily placing a ample operation successful an eelgrass furniture could person lingering effects connected the eelgrass, which is simply a captious situation for definite fish,” the h2o board’s Lichten says.

NetworkOcean’s Kim tells WIRED that the institution is cognizant of the concerns and is avoiding delicate habitats. His cofounder Mendel says that they did interaction 1 of the region’s regulators. In March, NetworkOcean spoke to an unspecified US Coast Guard typical astir investigating astatine the bottommost of the bay and pumping successful seawater arsenic a coolant. The institution aboriginal shifted to the existent near-surface plans that don’t impact pumping. (A Coast Guard spokesperson declined to remark without much clarity connected whom NetworkOcean allegedly contacted.)

For imperishable installations, Kim and Mendel accidental they are eyeing different US and overseas locations, which they declined to name, and that they are engaging with the applicable regulators.

Mendel insists the “SF Bay” trial announced past period volition determination forward—and soon. “We're inactive gathering the vessel,” helium says. A assemblage of marine scientists volition beryllium keeping their thermometers close.