{
  "story": {
    "slug": "66-pods-under-cook-inlet",
    "headline": "66 pods under cook inlet",
    "deck": "A company wants to sink 66 data center pods onto the floor of Cook Inlet near Kenai.",
    "url": "https://thedailyalaska.com/story/66-pods-under-cook-inlet",
    "section": "Energy",
    "area": "Kenai",
    "published_at": "2026-09-27T20:00:00+00:00",
    "updated_at": "2026-10-02T08:23:50.241579+00:00",
    "body_md": "A company has asked federal regulators to approve a subsea data center project on the floor of Cook Inlet, north of Kenai. The plan calls for 66 pods sitting on the sea floor, cooled by the surrounding water and powered by more than 300 of the project's own tidal turbines, with the whole system rated at 100 megawatts.\n\nThe project would connect to shore with a 3.5 mile cable carrying both power and fiber. That cable would come ashore in an industrial corridor between a nitrogen plant and an LNG plant.\n\nFederal regulators accepted the application on September 4. That starts a formal review clock, not an approval. The filing was first submitted in February and updated in June.\n\nThe head of the state's energy authority says the authority has had no communication with the company and plans to formally intervene and oppose the project. The city of Kenai received a notice letter in June and has not yet formally taken up the matter. Several Alaska Native tribes are listed as potentially affected parties.\n\nPublic comment on the application is open through November 2, and anyone can file one.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/2026/09/14/federal-review-advances-for-subsea-data-center-off-nikiski/",
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    "story_id": "43490714-f8c5-4123-9840-c4e1d60546a9",
    "slug": "66-pods-under-cook-inlet",
    "summary": "A company has asked federal regulators to approve a 100 megawatt subsea data center with 66 pods and over 300 tidal turbines on the floor of Cook Inlet near Kenai. The application was accepted September 4, 2026. Alaska's state energy authority plans to oppose it. Public comment runs through November 2.",
    "key_facts": [
      "The project calls for 66 pods on the sea floor of Cook Inlet, north of Kenai",
      "The system is rated at 100 megawatts and uses more than 300 tidal turbines",
      "A 3.5 mile cable would carry power and fiber to shore between a nitrogen plant and an LNG plant",
      "Federal regulators accepted the application on September 4, 2026, which starts review but is not approval",
      "The filing was first submitted in February 2026 and updated in June 2026",
      "Public comment is open through November 2, 2026"
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "a": "The 66 pods would sit on the sea floor of Cook Inlet north of Kenai, with a cable coming ashore in an industrial strip between a nitrogen plant and an LNG plant.",
        "q": "Where would the Cook Inlet data center go?"
      },
      {
        "a": "No. Federal regulators only accepted the application on September 4, which starts the formal review clock, it does not mean the project is approved.",
        "q": "Has the project been approved?"
      },
      {
        "a": "The head of the state's energy authority says the authority has had no contact with the company and plans to formally intervene and oppose the project.",
        "q": "Who opposes the data center project?"
      },
      {
        "a": "Public comment is open through November 2 and anyone can file one, giving residents a direct way to weigh in before regulators act further.",
        "q": "How can someone comment on the project?"
      }
    ],
    "claims": [
      {
        "claim": "Federal regulators accepted the subsea data center application on September 4, 2026.",
        "confidence": "sourced",
        "source_url": "https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/2026/09/14/federal-review-advances-for-subsea-data-center-off-nikiski/",
        "source_label": "peninsulaclarion.com"
      },
      {
        "claim": "The project proposes 66 pods on the Cook Inlet sea floor rated at 100 megawatts total, using more than 300 tidal turbines.",
        "confidence": "sourced",
        "source_url": "https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/2026/09/14/federal-review-advances-for-subsea-data-center-off-nikiski/",
        "source_label": "peninsulaclarion.com"
      },
      {
        "claim": "The project would connect to shore with a 3.5 mile cable carrying power and fiber, landing between a nitrogen plant and an LNG plant.",
        "confidence": "sourced",
        "source_url": "https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/2026/09/14/federal-review-advances-for-subsea-data-center-off-nikiski/",
        "source_label": "peninsulaclarion.com"
      },
      {
        "claim": "The state's energy authority has had no communication with the company and plans to intervene and oppose the project.",
        "confidence": "reported",
        "source_url": "https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/2026/09/14/federal-review-advances-for-subsea-data-center-off-nikiski/",
        "source_label": "peninsulaclarion.com"
      },
      {
        "claim": "The city of Kenai received a notice letter in June and has not formally taken up the matter.",
        "confidence": "reported",
        "source_url": "https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/2026/09/14/federal-review-advances-for-subsea-data-center-off-nikiski/",
        "source_label": "peninsulaclarion.com"
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    "locations": [
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        "area": "Kenai",
        "kind": "region",
        "name": "Cook Inlet"
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        "name": "State Energy Authority"
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      {
        "kind": "government",
        "name": "City of Kenai"
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    "event_dates": [
      {
        "date": "2026-02",
        "label": "Original filing submitted"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-06",
        "label": "Filing updated"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-06",
        "label": "City of Kenai received notice letter"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-09-04",
        "label": "Federal regulators accepted the application"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-11-02",
        "label": "Public comment deadline"
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    "what_changed": null,
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      "subsea data center kenai",
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    "disclosure": "Produced with AI assistance, narrated with Slav Lund's voice clone with his consent, and reviewed by a person before publishing.",
    "generated_at": "2026-10-02T08:23:50.192+00:00",
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    "abstract": "A company has asked federal regulators to approve a 100 megawatt subsea data center with 66 pods and over 300 tidal turbines on the floor of Cook Inlet near Kenai. The application was accepted September 4, 2026. Alaska's state energy authority plans to oppose it. Public comment runs through November 2.",
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