DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet
DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV LLC, a Delaware company whose parent formed in January 2026, applied to FERC in February for a preliminary permit over an initial operational envelope of 1,650 acres of Cook Inlet seabed west of Nikiski, proposing a 100 megawatt data center of 66 hives of AI servers powered and cooled by approximately 330 to 350 tidal turbines in water 45 to 166 feet deep. A preliminary permit authorizes study rather than construction, for up to four years, and FERC's Northwest branch found the application incomplete in a June 18th letter.
How the public reaches this
The comment room is open. FERC accepted DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV, LLC's preliminary permit application for filing and published notice in the Federal Register on September 4th, 2026, opening the record on Project No. P-15423-000. Comments, motions to intervene, competing applications and notices of intent to file competing applications are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 2nd, 2026, which is 1:00 p.m. Alaska time. Filing runs through FERC's eFiling system and the docket is readable through eLibrary. A preliminary permit grants study and site priority rather than authority to build, so what is open here is the record on whether the applicant gets up to four years of priority to study the site.
Timeline
Sources
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How this decision moved
One dated line per material change, oldest first.
2026-08-21 Tracked from today. The applicant told FERC the project would tie into the Alaska Energy Authority's Cook Inlet PowerLink, a 38 mile subsea cable rated for up to 200 megawatts of bidirectional transfer that AEA lists as In Development and not yet built. AEA chief executive Curtis Thayer says the authority had never heard of DeepGreen and was never contacted, and that the company's letter to FERC has some of the project's facts "dead wrong". FERC also found the company had not identified all tribes and Alaska Native corporations that may be affected. The same company's Maine project at Eastport has been cut from 51 megawatts to a maximum of 15 and from about 170 turbines to 16 in a first phase, and Eastport's council voted unanimously on August 12th for a 180 day moratorium on any data center approval. The Maine Monitor reports the Alaska proposal has not been indicated as scaled down.
2026-08-25 Checked the Federal Register for anything filed under this company. It carries exactly one DeepGreen notice, published August 25th, 2026, and that notice is for the Western Passage project in the Bay of Fundy near Eastport, Maine. It is not the Cook Inlet application. So the commission has now noticed the company's Maine filing and has not noticed the Alaska one.
2026-08-29 The same developer's Maine application advanced and the Cook Inlet proposal did not. FERC accepted DeepGreen Western Passage SPV LLC's preliminary permit application for project P-15424-000, in the Western Passage of the Bay of Fundy near Eastport, Maine, and published the notice on August 25th, 2026. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications on that project are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on October 19th, 2026. That notice does not mention Alaska or Cook Inlet, and no equivalent notice has published for the Cook Inlet proposal, whose last recorded federal action remains the June 18th, 2026 finding that the filing was incomplete.
2026-09-02 Checked and unchanged. The Federal Register still carries exactly one DeepGreen notice, published August 25th, 2026, and it belongs to the company's Western Passage project in the Bay of Fundy near Eastport, Maine, project number 15424-000. The Cook Inlet application still has not been noticed.
2026-09-04 FERC accepted the application for filing and opened the record. The notice published in the Federal Register on September 4th, 2026 carries Project No. P-15423-000 and sets a deadline of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 2nd, 2026 for comments, motions to intervene, competing applications and notices of intent to file competing applications. The notice describes approximately 330 to 350 marine hydrokinetic turbines and 66 modular subsea-compute hives, called data center pods in the notice's own parenthetical, integrated within the turbine array, plus an approximately 3.5 mile long 115 kV hybrid power and fiber optic armored subsea cable. It states the estimated annual generation would be 100 megawatts. The project would sit in the Upper Cook Inlet, East Foreland Corridor, Kenai Peninsula Borough. A preliminary permit is a study and priority instrument and authorises no construction.
2026-09-07 Re-verified against the Federal Register notice itself, published September 4th, 2026. The commission's docket is P-15423-000 and comments, motions to intervene and competing applications are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 2nd, 2026. DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV, LLC describes roughly 330 to 350 turbines and 66 subsea data center pods in Upper Cook Inlet.
2026-09-10 Re-verified against the Federal Register notice of September 4th, 2026. The record on Project No. P-15423-000, DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV, LLC, stays open until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 2nd, 2026 for comments, motions to intervene, competing applications and notices of intent to file competing applications. The notice describes approximately 330 to 350 marine hydrokinetic turbines and an estimated 100 megawatts of annual generation. The Commission contact is Christopher Brosman at 202-502-8573.
2026-09-13 Re-verified against the FERC notice at govinfo for project P-15423-000. The window for comments, motions to intervene and competing applications runs to 5 p.m. Eastern on November 2nd, which is fifty days out. The notice describes the operational envelope as roughly 330 to 350 marine hydrokinetic turbines, 66 subsea data center pods and a 3.5 mile subsea cable in the East Foreland corridor of upper Cook Inlet, with about 100 megawatts of annual generation. Brief comment can be filed without registering through the Commission's eComment form.
2026-09-15 Updated. The state's own energy authority has said it will fight this. Alaska Energy Authority chief executive Curtis W. Thayer told the Peninsula Clarion on September 14th that the authority will file to intervene and oppose the permit, because the company never contacted the agency even though its filing refers to the authority's Cook Inlet PowerLink project. The next day the authority announced it has the permits for marine survey work on that line, has hired Woolpert, and will mobilise crews to the Kenai Peninsula beginning September 20th with fieldwork running through October 22nd across a marine corridor of about 35 miles. Two claims on one inlet now have overlapping calendars. Re-read today against the Federal Register notice, which describes the project as 100 megawatts, approximately 330 to 350 marine hydrokinetic turbines, 66 modular subsea compute hives and an approximately 3.5 mile, 115 kV hybrid power and fibre optic armoured subsea cable landing in the Nikiski Industrial Corridor between the Agrium Kenai Nitrogen Operations and the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas Plant. The notice states no acreage.
2026-09-17 Checked and unchanged. Comments, motions to intervene, competing applications and notices of intent to file a competing application on Project No. P-15423-000 are still due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 2nd, and no further FERC action has been published since the acceptance notice of September 4th. Forty-six days remain to file.
2026-09-18 Checked and unchanged, with the comment date re-verified today against the Federal Register notice itself. Comments, motions to intervene, competing applications and notices of intent to file a competing application are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 2nd, on project number P-15423-000. FERC has issued no further notice in the docket since accepting the application on September 4th.
2026-09-20 Checked and unchanged. The Federal Register notice accepting the application for filing still governs, and comments, motions to intervene, competing applications and notices of intent to file a competing application are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 2nd on project number P-15423-000. The notice places the project in the Upper Cook Inlet East Foreland corridor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, with a subsea cable landing connecting to the Nikiski industrial corridor.
2026-09-24 Checked and unchanged. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications on P-15423-000 are still due November 2nd, a date moved from October 31st because that falls on a Saturday. As of September 11th the City of Kenai had received only a June 24th notification letter from the company, and no comments had yet been filed, per the Homer News.
2026-09-25 Opposition is now on the record. FERC accepted the application on September 1st, and motions to intervene have since been filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Conservation Alliance and the Kenai Peninsula Borough, whose motion is dated September 14th, per the Anchorage Daily News. Alaska Energy Authority chief executive Curtis Thayer told the Peninsula Clarion the authority will file to intervene and oppose it. In a September 21st response filed with the commission, DeepGreen said the modeling and studies requested would occur during a three year study period. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications on P-15423-000 remain due November 2nd.
2026-09-28 Checked and unchanged. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications on P-15423-000 are still due November 2nd. The Anchorage Daily News of September 24th lists three motions to intervene so far, from the Center for Biological Diversity, the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Conservation Alliance and the Kenai Peninsula Borough.
2026-10-01 Searched the Federal Register today for docket P-15423. The September 4th notice accepting DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV's preliminary permit application is still the only one published, and no permit has been issued or denied. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications remain due November 2nd. Checked and unchanged.
2026-10-04 Searched the Federal Register today for docket P-15423 and for DeepGreen. The September 4th notice accepting DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV's preliminary permit application is still the only Cook Inlet notice published, and no permit has been issued or denied. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications remain due November 2nd. Checked and unchanged.
2026-10-07 Searched the Federal Register today for docket P-15423 and found no notice since October 1st. The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported on October 4th the same three motions to intervene already listed here, from the Center for Biological Diversity, the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Conservation Alliance and the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications remain due November 2nd. Checked and unchanged.
2026-10-10 Searched the Federal Register today for Alaska notices published since October 1st and found none for docket P-15423 or DeepGreen. No permit has been issued or denied. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications remain due November 2nd. Checked and unchanged.
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Alaska AI Docket, DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet.
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Questions about this decision
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What is DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV LLC, a Delaware company whose parent formed in January 2026, applied to FERC in February for a preliminary permit over an initial operational envelope of 1,650...
Who decides DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Can I comment on DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
The comment room is open. FERC accepted DeepGreen Cook Inlet SPV, LLC's preliminary permit application for filing and published notice in the Federal Register on September 4th, 2026, opening the record on Project No. P-15423-000. Comments, motions to...
When is the deadline for DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
November 2nd, 22 days out. Comments, motions to intervene and competing applications due, 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Where is DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
Cook Inlet, west of Nikiski
Has DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet been decided?
It is open for comment. Opposition is now on the record. FERC accepted the application on September 1st, and motions to intervene have since been filed by the Center for Biological Diversity...
What happens next with DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
Cook Inlet PowerLink marine survey fieldwork ends, October 22nd, 11 days out.
What changed on DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
Opposition is now on the record. FERC accepted the application on September 1st, and motions to intervene have since been filed by the Center for Biological Diversity...
What kind of decision is DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
A regulatory docket, decided by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
When did DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet start?
Tracked since August 21st, 51 days ago. The earliest date on its record is February 11th.
Where can I read the sources for DeepGreen's underwater data center in Cook Inlet?
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, eComment, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, via govinfo.gov, Anchorage Daily News, The Maine Monitor, Alaska Energy Authority, Federal Register, Peninsula Clarion, Homer News, Alaska Journal of Commerce, via Anchorage Daily News. Every one is listed with its date on the decision page.
Beats
This decision is tracked on Alaska data centers · Alaska power and the grid · Alaska land and permitting for AI · Defense and federal AI in Alaska · Alaska AI policy and legislation. Each beat page keeps every decision and every article on that subject in one place.