Floating Data Centres

If nobody wants rigs you just switch to something else.
The demand for data centres is growing, but land to build them on is scarce in Singapore, so move them offshore:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Keppel-takes-data-centers-to-sea-in-land-scarce-Singapore.

That is the Singapore way; If you have a problem you find a solution, not looking for somebody else to blame it on.

That’s a stretch, Northern Virginia, is the data center capital of the world, they still have plenty of room. As much as 70% of all Internet traffic in the world is routed through NOVA on a daily basis.

1 Like

Why float them when you can sink them?

Seems like a potential use for off-contract moored semi-submersibles.

1 Like

Power and land is a lot cheaper and more available in the Pacific Northwest but I guess Virginia is a bit closer to the CIA.

Not to mention the ground station stashed on a military firing range that sniffs the data between Asia and the US that goes through a big earth station nearby the source of that cheap hydroelectric power.

3 Likes

Good Fucking Lord! Utter nonsense! How on earth do you transmit all that traffic to and from such a data center other than through lots and lots of fiber optic cables which means the ship would need to be fixed in place and then what is the point plus then the diesel generators run continuously END THIS NOW!

2 Likes

Damn, @c.captain, someone piss in your cheerios this morning? Been a while since I’ve seen you this riled up.

I suggest you @c.captain read the article ombugge has a link to. One of the things it says is, “Keppel signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia’s Toll Group in April to study the feasibility of a floating data center. The company had announced the concept back in mid-2019, and is now testing it using Toll’s offshore logistics base in Loyang, Singapore.” So apparently it is being given some consideration. Whether or not it moves forward remains to be seen. Given the advent of 5G they may be able to forgo the fiber optic cable. Then again if they run fiber optic cable, they can run power cables as well.

Chill dude.

Aside from land being hard to come by the only benefit is cooling lots of water for cooling. In the united states the environmental evaluation process could be a problem heat pollution. Didn’t they try and do something with barges in NYC a few years back.

Singapore has 100% coverage by fibre optic cables for internet transmission already and yes they are able to run both fibre optic and power cable a lot further then to a floating data centre just of Loyang Offshore Base, if required.

PS> Maybe something that could solve the problem of what to do with obsolete oil & gas production platforms all around the place?
Place data centres on them, with fibre optic cables to supply the data and floating wind turbines around to supply the power. Plenty of seawater around for cooling.

BTW; I was of the impression that ccaptain replied to a suggestion that unwanted drilling rigs could be use for the purpose, but that post appeared to have disappeared somehow (??)

Again, Northern VA will remain and continue to be the main spot for data centers for the future. It is time to put this thread to rest, I also do not see the feasibility of an offshore unit data center, but again there are weirder things in this world.

I have no doubt Northern Virginia has its advantages. However it may not be suitable for Singaporean interests. They are very land poor and therefore such an idea is an option that may be worth exploring for them.