The project is environmentally sustainable in other respects. More than 95 percent of electricity comes from offshore wind turbines. Overall, designers estimate that this reduces energy consumption by 22.8 percent. Huang Dinan, president of Shenergy Group, another contractor on the project, noted that the East China Sea offers unique offshore wind resources that are used for more than 3,000 hours annually. Land utilize is reduced by over 90 percent, a major factor in densely populated coastal cities such as Shanghai, and the need for fresh water is completely eliminated.
From East to West
UDC is not an isolated endeavor. As part of China’s broader national strategy, Shanghai aims to become a global center for scientific and technological innovation by growing its cloud computing industry to a value of over RMB 200 billion (about $28.25 billion) by 2027.
This initiative is also a complement – and perhaps an alternative – to the “East Data, West Computing” megaproject launched in 2022. This project involves the construction of data centers in less developed western regions of China to process data generated by coastal economic centers in the east. UDC Lin-gang, on the other hand, processes data close to where it is generated, while using marine resources to mitigate negative environmental impacts.
Winds of change
The 24 MW UDC capacity is just the beginning. During the project announcement, prime contractors including Shanghai Hicloud Technology, Shenergy Group, China Telecom’s Shanghai branch and INESA signed a novel agreement to launch another UDC offshore wind project with a much more ambitious target: 500 megawatts.
However, moving from verification projects to large-scale applications poses significant challenges. “The construction of the UDC is still in its early stages,” cautioned Wang Shifeng, president of Third Harbor Engineering, another company involved in the current project. Wang emphasized that for wider implementation, O&M optimization as well as technological reliability must first be achieved.
This story originally appeared on WIRED in Spanish and was translated from Spanish.