Offshore Data Center LLC has recently started a new collaboration with Kalypso Offshore Energy to utilize underused and remote gases off the coast of the United States to power AI-based data centers. This partnership aims to assess new facilities as well as repurpose existing infrastructure on gas platforms.
Feasibility of Using Gas Platforms
Art Schroeder, founder and CEO of Offshore Data Center, has noted that a significant number of platforms in the Gulf of America are planned to be decommissioned, while some may still have useful structural life. The company, along with operators and officials, is evaluating opportunities to place modular data centers on existing assets, thereby aiming to generate new revenue from marine resources and delay the costs associated with asset retirement.
Benefits of Proximity Between Energy Production and Data Centers
Placing energy production and computing close to offshore gas resources aims to reduce the conventional chain where gas is converted to electricity and then transmitted to a land-based data center. Offshore Data Center, in collaboration with its partners, including Horton do Brasil, whose semi-submersible hull designs can be up to 50% lighter and more stable, is looking to build competitive data centers on the U.S. coast. The company is also seeking to provide closed cooling systems that can significantly reduce the cooling loads of data centers.
Management of Undersea Cables
Kalypso Offshore Energy is responsible for the work related to undersea cables that connect these facilities to power and communication networks as well as the shore. This includes the development of routes, engineering, installation, and connection of fiber optic cables, power cables, and auxiliary cables. Owen Ratage, manager of Kalypso Offshore Energy, has stated that "a marine data center is only as valuable as the cables that connect it" and emphasized the importance of providing low-latency cables and reliable power connections.
