#endangeredwhales — Public Fediverse posts

#EastportME Council unanimously adopts moratorium on #DeepGreen #UnderwaterDatacenter proposal

By Melissa S. Razdrih, August 13, 2026

EASTPORT — "The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to enact a 180‑day moratorium that halts all progress on a proposed underwater artificial intelligence data center planned for waters off Eastport.

"Councilors said the move gives them time to consult with the Eastport Planning Board on the zoning impacts of two citizen-initiated ordinances designed to prevent data center projects in the city by amending the city’s Zoning and Shoreland Zoning ordinances.

"At the heart of the controversy is a project proposed by #LouisWolfson, a #LuxuryRealEstateDeveloper from Needham, Massachusetts, and the managing member of #DeepGreenHoldingsLLC.

"The company formed in Delaware one month before applying for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or #FERC, preliminary permits to build tidal‑powered, underwater artificial intelligence data centers for both #DeepGreenWesternPassageSPV in #Maine and a second project in the #UpperCookInlet in #Alaska.

"The Alaska proposal has also faced #resistance from the local community.

"In February, DeepGreen filed a 48‑month preliminary permit application with FERC to begin engineering and environmental tests in Maine, a required first step toward developing an underwater #AIDatacenter in the #BayOfFundy .

"The application drew an almost immediate response from residents and #Passamaquoddy tribal officials, who strongly oppose the development. Among the most vocal opponents is the #EastportCoalitionForHealthyOceans, or #ECHO, which submitted two citizen petitions for ordinances intended to prevent the project and protect what the group describes as 'the character of the city.'

"FERC found multiple deficiencies in DeepGreen’s application, including failure to identify all Tribes affected by the project, failure to specify all physical dimensions and configurations required by statute, inclusion of maps that extended beyond the required project boundaries, and a lack of detailed technical explanation for a 400‑acre 'operational envelope' despite a much smaller active infrastructure footprint.

"In its response to FERC, DeepGreen supplied the requested names and contact information for Tribal leaders. The company also provided an updated map and revised technical specifications showing a significantly smaller proposal, reducing the original 400‑acre operational envelope in the Western Passage to an active infrastructure footprint of 27.1 acres.

"The company also told FERC that the 'total proposed project operational capacity has been scaled down to a maximum of 15 MW (megawatts) to align with revised commercial modeling,' compared to an earlier proposal that envisioned up to 51 MW. In the revised Phase I, DeepGreen projects installing 16 marine hydrokinetic turbines, increasing to 34 in Phase II. The original proposal called for 170 turbines.

"The permit application for the Alaska project received a similar letter of deficiencies from FERC, but the company has not indicated that the Alaska proposal is being scaled down."

Read more:
themainemonitor.org/eastport-adopts-moratorium-underwater-data-center-proposal/

#UnderwaterDatacenters #NoAI
#NoAIDatacenters #WaterIsLife
#OceansAreLife #BigTech #MainePol #PassamaquoddyNation #CenterForBiologicalDiversity
#Whales #EndangeredWhales #EndangeredSpecies

#Greenwashing at its finest! No mention of the harm that will be caused to #MarineLife by the #NoisePollution !

#Underwater AIDataCenter proposed off #EastportME

Project would rely on tidal power
BY EDWARD FRENCH

"Of the AI data center, Wolfson says, 'There’s a real need for it.' [BULLSHIT!] Noting that #datacenters utilize a great deal of energy, he wants to harness the energy of the tides to power the server racks, which would be underwater, with the surrounding water cooling them. Data centers generate massive amounts of heat and require intense cooling. Wolfson says other parts of the world are working on developing similar projects, with China having launched commercial‑scale undersea data centers to use seawater cooling for high‑performance computing.

"Along with the #WesternPassage site, the company has filed for a preliminary permit from FERC for a site at #CookInlet in #Alaska, which happens to be the location of another #ORPC tidal energy project."

https://www.islandinstitute.org/working-waterfront/underwater-ai-data-center-proposed-off-eastport/

#DeepGreenWesternPassageSPV #UnderwaterDatacenters #NoAI #NoAIDatacenters #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #BigTech #MainePol #PassamaquoddyNation #CenterForBiologicalDiversity #Whales #EndangeredWhales #EndangeredSpecies

I just learned about the proposed underwater #Datacenter off the coast of #EastportME, which is opposed by both the town and the #PassamaquoddyNation ! It looks like the #CenterForBiologicalDiversity is getting involved in the fight as well!

Legal Intervention Seeks to Protect #Whales From Proposed Underwater Data Center in #Maine

September 24, 2026

EASTPORT, Maine — "The Center for Biological Diversity filed a motion today to intervene in the federal permitting process for an underwater data center proposed off the coast of Maine. The proposed project could harm endangered North Atlantic right whales and fin whales, along with other marine wildlife.

" 'Experimenting with an underwater data center in the habitat of one of the world’s most endangered whale populations is a truly terrible idea,' said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. 'Whales already face too many human-caused threats. Noise from the surveys and vessels could stress and disturb wildlife. If it’s built, this underwater data center could make the bay even more dangerous. The project needs to be stopped in its tracks.'

"The data center would be on about 27 acres near Eastport, Maine, in the #BayOfFundy, where #EndangeredWhales, #sturgeon and other #CoastalWildlife live and feed.

"On Aug. 25 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted an application from #DeepGreenWesternPassageSPV LLC to study feasibility for the project. The preliminary surveys and monitoring the company is proposing may increase vessel traffic and #NoisePollution , which could disrupt the behavior of #RightWhales, #FinWhales and other wildlife and interfere with their communication and foraging. These activities could also affect prey, increase pollution, impair #habitat and create collision or displacement risks.

"If the data center is eventually built, it would amplify those risks and raise additional concerns for #MarineLife, including entrapment, #thermal discharges, #contaminants, noise and construction impacts. #DeepGreen has also identified a potential second phase that would expand the project to as much as 400 acres.

"Fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales remain, including only about 70 breeding females. The primary threats to right whales are fishing gear entanglements and vessel strikes. Fin whales, which are the second largest whale species on Earth, are also endangered throughout their range."

Source:
https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/legal-intervention-seeks-to-protect-whales-from-proposed-underwater-data-center-in-maine-2026-09-24/

#Maine #MainePol #NoDatacenters #UnderwaterDatacenters #NoisePollution #EndangeredSpecies