DeepGreen proposes underwater AI data center in Alaska's Cook Inlet
DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV has proposed an underwater AI data center powered by up to 350 tidal turbines in Cook Inlet off Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Local officials and environmental advocates warn that the project could harm endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales and criticize the lack of state regulations and communication, while DeepGreen says its preliminary permit would not authorize construction and that it will comply with federal environmental safeguards.
DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV has proposed an underwater data center in Cook Inlet, powered by as many as 350 tidal turbines and designed to support high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads. The proposal is described as the first of its kind in Alaska and would use sealed subsea server pods, tidal power and ocean cooling rather than local grid electricity or freshwater.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche criticized DeepGreen for failing to communicate with local officials and called for formal state oversight of emerging technologies on public waters and lands. Cooper Freeman of the Alaska Center for Biological Diversity warned that construction and industrial noise could threaten the endangered Cook Inlet beluga population, which NOAA estimates at about 300 whales.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed to intervene with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in an effort to block DeepGreen's preliminary permit. DeepGreen said the permit would not authorize construction, seabed disturbance, turbines, cooling-water discharge or navigation restrictions, and pledged to coordinate future studies with federal and Alaska wildlife agencies while meeting marine-mammal protections.