An underwater data center (UDC) connected to an offshore wind farm is now operational off the coast of China’s Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, according to Chinese media reports.
The project, claimed to be the world’s first of its kind, was launched in June 2025 following a cooperation agreement between the Lingang Special Area’s administrative committee, Shanghai Lingang Special Area Investment Holding Group, and HiCloud Technology.
Initially set up as a demonstration facility with a capacity of 2.3 MW, the project will expand to 24 MW in its second phase as per the June 2025 plans.
In October 2025, the Chinese government announced completion of the “world’s first wind-powered underwater data center (UDC),” highlighting its role in promoting green and low-carbon development of computing infrastructure.
In February, Lingang Special Area stated the CNY 1.6 billion (approximately USD 228 million) UDC with a 24 MW capacity was operational.
The data center, located 10 meters underwater, is positioned between phases of Lin-gang’s offshore wind farm. It uses seawater for cooling and is powered directly by the wind farm.
Project developers claim the system reduces electricity consumption by 22.8%, eliminates water use, and cuts land use by over 90%. Its power usage effectiveness (PUE) is around 1.15, an industry-leading figure.
Equipped with GPU servers, the UDC supports applications like big data annotation and development of domestic large language models (LLMs), facilitating resource allocation between offshore and onshore facilities.
Computing clusters from companies including China Telecom, and local computing service providers like LinkWise, have been deployed, according to Lingang Special Area.
Original Story at www.offshorewind.biz