A photo shows the data cabin of the Shanghai Lingang undersea data center demonstration project on Sept 11. XU CONGJUN/FOR CHINA DAILY
China has begun operations of the world's first undersea data center directly powered by offshore wind, as the country races to solve the soaring energy demands of artificial intelligence with greener and more efficient infrastructure.
The Shanghai Lingang undersea data center demonstration project, built by a subsidiary of China Communications Construction, officially entered operation in the waters off Shanghai's eastern coast in May.
The project combines offshore engineering, renewable energy and AI-focused digital infrastructure in a model Chinese officials and engineers describe as a potential template for next-generation computing systems.
Located about 10 kilometers offshore in Shanghai's Lingang area, the project has a planned capacity of 24 megawatts, which is enough to power roughly 20,000 households.
