SAE reveals plans for tidal-powered data centre

Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE) has revealed plans to create a new data centre in Scotland powered by its MeyGen tidal turbine project in the Pentland Firth.

The facility would be supplied directly through a private wire network, avoiding the costs incurred through the use of the power grid.

The company envisions the data centre being connected to multiple international subsea fibre optic cables, offering fast and reliable connections to London, Europe and the USA.

It is hoping to get the centre up and running by 2024 in line with its plans to add another 80MW of capacity to the MeyGen project for its next phase.

SAE said the data centre and private network could boost renewable deployment in the local area by alleviating constraints on the power grid and providing a new source of revenue following the withdrawal of subsidies.

Chief executive Tim Cornelius said: “Data is being touted as the new oil. It is arguably becoming the world’s most valuable resource, and the amount of data requiring storage is increasing at a staggering pace.

“However, data centres are undeniably power hungry, and the clients of data centre operators are rightly demanding power be sourced from renewable and sustainable sources.

“This exciting project represents the marriage of a world leading renewable energy project in MeyGen with a data centre operator that seeks to provide its clients with a large amount of computing power, powered from a sustainable and reliable source – the ocean.”

The MeyGen project currently consists of four 1.5MW turbines, including one of SAE’s AR1500 model. Last year, the company unveiled the design for a 2MW version and shortly afterwards announced plans to install two of the turbines at MeyGen.