Microsoft Built a Data Centre Under THE OCEAN
The short version: The B1M revisits Microsoft's undersea data center experiment, a neat engineering story that shouldn't distract from the very land-bound power and water fights happening in your county right now.
Our Take
Credit to The B1M for a clean explainer on Project Natick, Microsoft's real experiment sinking a server-filled capsule off Scotland's coast to test cooling by ocean water instead of chillers and fans. It's a genuinely interesting engineering story, and worth watching for the visuals alone.
But here's the thing to keep in mind: this was a research pilot, not the template for the boom actually reshaping American communities. The data centers going up right now from Virginia to Arizona to rural Georgia are sitting on dry land, drawing from local power grids and municipal or well water, and often locking in tax abatements and interconnection deals that residents only learn about after the ribbon-cutting. Sinking a box in the North Sea makes for a great headline; it doesn't tell you who's paying for the substation upgrade down the street or whose water bill just went up.
If you want to see what's actually being built near you, and who approved it, check our facility map, and if a project is moving through your county without public comment, our take-action page can help you find the hearing before it's too late.
This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The B1M, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.