SIMEC Atlantic, a UK based energy provider, has announced its plan to build a tidal powered data centre off the northern shores of Scotland.

Data centres often contain both the information and processing power that is needed in cloud computing.

More and more people are adopting cloud computing practices, meaning that additional space and energy is necessary to keep the resources going.

What’s more is that it is essential that these storage areas are kept cool so that the equipment does not overheat, making the highland sea the perfect place to keep one.

How it works

A private wire network will be used to transfer power from the tidal turbines to the data centre. The power used by the tidal turbines is being supplied by SIMEC Atlantic’s green energy project, MeyGen.

SIMEC Atlantic has been working on a way to deliver high-speed international fiber optics through working alongside engineering company AECOM.

In a world-first, it’s hoped the project will bring data to London, Europe, and the USA via the ocean.

Using green energy to power data

SIMEC Atlantis CEO 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.” He added.

Using tidal power as a renewable source of green energy to power data centres benefits both the digital and environmental issues that we are faced with today.