as a recent coolingzone article noted, microsoft is working hard to make its data centers as green as possible by using renewable resources and other methods for cooling the huge server farms.

microsoft is experimenting with submerged data centers. (youtube)

in cheyenne, wyoming, microsoft has made the data center fully dependent on local wind farms, while other options have included submerging data centers underwater to use the ocean as a giant heat exhanger.

one idea that came out of the experimental trial in 2015 was using the underwater data center as an artificial reef, a habitat for marine life, and that idea has been taken seriously enough that microsoft has filed a patent for an artificial reef datacenter. this is part of the company’s project natick.

an article on datacenterknowledge.com explained, “according to microsoft, not only can you put servers closer to more people if you submerge them off the coasts of major population centers, you will have easier time securing the required permits and guarantee a more predictable environment than on dry land.”

in 2015, microsoft submerged a one-rack data center off the coast of california. the next step is a data center about the “size of a shipping container” on the ocean floor. the patent describes data center structures that are either sitting on the ocean floor or anchored several feet above the floor of an ocean, lake, river, or even “flooded quarries.”

the artificial reef concept would include a structure designed to be inviting to local marine life. this would require minimizing the vibrations from the machines inside.

learn more about project natick in the video below: