Public comment is open on Cook Inlet subsea data-center plan

Alaskans have until Nov. 2 to comment on a proposal to study a tidal-powered subsea data center off Nikiski.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission notice describes 330 to 350 tidal turbines and 66 computing pods on the floor of Upper Cook Inlet. The proposed 100-megawatt array would primarily power the data center. Spare electricity could go to the Railbelt grid through a new substation.

A 3.5-mile armored cable would carry power and data to shore in the Nikiski industrial corridor. DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV LLC, whose managing member is based in Massachusetts, applied for the permit in February.

The federal action would not authorize construction or any work in the water. A preliminary permit would give DeepGreen priority to study the site and later apply for a license.

The proposal has drawn local scrutiny. A fishing advocate told the Kenai City Council on Sept. 16 that the application lacks modeling for heat released by the pods during Cook Inlet's slack tides. City Manager Terry Eubank said the city may intervene in the FERC case, which would preserve its standing without taking a position for or against the project. He expects to return with a recommendation at the council's Oct. 7 meeting.

FERC is accepting comments, motions to intervene and competing applications until 5 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 2. Brief comments of up to 10,000 characters can be submitted without registration through the commission's eComment system. Longer filings and motions to intervene use eFiling. Submissions must identify docket P-15423-000.

Alaska News first reported the proposal on Sept. 8. That report includes the company's financing claims, the competing permit at the site and Cook Inlet's history of unbuilt tidal projects.