Tidal Power, Subsea Servers, and Two Endangered Whale Populations

The North Atlantic right whale and the Cook Inlet beluga whale are absolutely among the most critically endangered cetaceans on planet Earth. Close to extinction, their estimated populations are ~380 and ~331, respectively. With that in mind, and considering that we are experiencing a vast decline in nature happening at a global scale, why on earth would anyone consider building underwater data centers right where these exceptionally intelligent, self-aware, and socially intuitive whale species live? The cruel reality of such an idea is sickening. But if approved, that is exactly what DeepGreen Holdings LLC plans to do. Using special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), the company has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for preliminary permits to study the feasibility of two large tidal-powered underwater data centers in the Western Passage/Gulf of Maine near Eastport, and Upper Cook Inlet, near Nikiski, Alaska, where these two whale populations call home.

Among the first large-scale underwater data centers proposed in United States waters, one can’t help but wonder if DeepGreen Holdings’ plan is a deliberate act of cruelty. Why are they eyeing two places that are home to some of the last endangered whales on Earth with a plan to sink and secure large mammoth heat-generating machines right over top of them? Indeed, there is something profoundly inhumane in treating those magnificent animals—whose highly advanced cerebral cortex is linked to advanced emotional processing, empathy, and social intuition—and their habitats as an acceptable trade-off for server farms and massive quarterly profits. The idea is so stripped of any sense that other lives have standing, that it reads like a quiet rehearsal for the end. And it is heartbreaking. Shocked and surprised when he heard the proposal, Mayor Peter Micciche of Kenai Peninsula Borough remarked:

“Sloppy is the way I would describe this approach at this stage in the game. My complaint today is being in the dark about a very large, substantial development offshore of Cook Inlet. What is missing is a body of law that deals with new technology.”

Apparently, DeepGreen Holdings LLC has targeted Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Maine for two specific geographical advantages. First, both bodies of water have some of the strongest, most extreme, and most predictable tidal currents in North America. Unlike solar or wind energy, which are intermittent and depend on the weather, tides are governed by the moon. Thus, their movement can be predicted in advance (hmmm, perhaps that is why whales live there). This predictable movement provides a constant, heavy baseline of “always-on” electricity, which is apparently a perfect match for resource-heavy AI. Second, both locations feature deeply cold northern waters. By submerging and anchoring the servers directly into the water’s sub-frigid temperatures, the ocean will act as a massive thermal sink, wildlife be damned.

Unlike floating data centers (which are an entirely different issue), DeepGreen’s proposed projects would be anchored directly to the ocean floor, and combine sealed underwater data-center pods and on-site tidal power generation. The core concept for both sites notes that marine hydrokinetic (tidal) turbines would generate electricity from strong tidal currents to be used directly by the underwater data-center pods. The framing is called “behind-the-meter,” meaning the power won’t first run through and compete with the public power grid. Sealed cylindrical pods (called “subsea-compute hives”) would hold the servers, which would sit on the ocean floor, integrated with the turbine array, to be cooled passively by the ocean. Heat would pass through the outside of the pods, and hybrid power-and-fiber cables would run to shore for data connectivity.

As expected, environmental groups and local residents have raised numerous important concerns, including noise, heat discharge, sediment disturbance, and impacts on fisheries, given salmon runs in Cook Inlet and commercial and recreational fisheries in both areas. And of course, the broader marine ecosystem effects is front and center, with whale concerns serving as one of the central reasons for opposition to both projects. The Center for Biological Diversity has intervened in the federal permitting process for the underwater data center proposed off the coast of Maine, which is near feeding grounds used by both North Atlantic right whales and fin whales. The group has argued that even preliminary survey work (and, of course, later the project itself) would increase vessel traffic and noise that disrupt these sacred whales.

Along with whales and their internal geomagnetic compass, there is something incredibly sacred about electromagnetically sensitive bees, which are also in fast decline thanks to choices made by human beings. Some recent claims link electromagnetic fields around data centers as disruptive to bees. The disruption to bees seems like a certainty, much like the damage that underwater data centers will bring to the whale habitat. The use of terms like “pods” and “hives” is clumsy at best when coining underwater data centers, given that these two words describe the essence of bees and whales.

To be clear, as it relates to the topic at hand, a pod is a social group of whales (or other cetaceans) that travel and interact together, and a hive is the nest or colony structure where bees live and raise their young. Let’s name these disruptive AI-driven components what they really are. Accurate names would be, perhaps, something like “critical-habitat acoustic arrays,” or “endangered-range seabed turbines,” or “whale-migration noise platforms,” or “habitat-obstruction server fields.” As we destroy nature, terminology matters. To be upfront and accurate, it must record the trade-off rather than disguise it. Using terms like “pods” and “hives” imports the language of the animals whose habitat these potential projects will destroy. They deserve better than mere wordplay as greedy corporations actively plot their demise. And so does humanity.