Community fights back against AI data centre plans off the coast of Maine, and it's exposing a much bigger question about who gets to decide what happens to a shared body of water. In this episode of Ocean Decoded Live, host Andrew Lewin breaks down the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's acceptance of DeepGreen Western Passage's preliminary permit for a tidal-powered, seawater-cooled AI data center near Kendall Head, off Eastport, Maine. The proposed footprint spans 27 acres of seafloor, roughly the size of 20 American football fields, and while a preliminary permit only allows environmental and engineering studies, not construction, the plan has already triggered a formal rejection from the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik, a unanimous 180-day moratorium from Eastport's City Council, and multiple deficiency findings from FERC itself.
The episode traces how this story escalated in layers: DeepGreen's offer of tidal-generated electricity to the tribe in exchange for a formal partnership, and the tribe's pointed rejection of that deal, prioritizing their fisheries and cultural resources over the promised power benefit; the City Council's shift from early caution to unanimous opposition, driven by residents who argued the risk case was never adequately made; and FERC's own independent findings that the original application failed to properly identify affected tribes and lacked required technical detail. Andrew also walks through the ecological consequences at stake if a project like this moves forward, including thermal pollution, marine heat wave risk, and seafloor disruption in an already sensitive tidal estuary.
The show then shifts to two very different stories: an Ocean People Profile spotlighting Carissa Cabrera, CEO and Founder of Futureswell, who's built a career turning ocean anxiety into ocean action through storytelling and community-building, and a look at new Dartmouth research showing octopuses can use mirrors to locate hidden food, offering a rare, evolutionarily surprising glimpse into invertebrate spatial cognition.
Takeaways:
A community fights back against AI data centre plans in Eastport, Maine, after FERC accepted DeepGreen Western Passage's preliminary permit for a 27-acre underwater AI data center, though this only allows site studies, not construction.
The Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik formally rejected any partnership with DeepGreen, prioritizing their fisheries and cultural resources over the tidal power benefits offered.
Eastport's City Council moved from early caution to a unanimous 180-day moratorium after months of resident pressure and unresolved risk-versus-benefit questions.
FERC independently found the original application deficient, including failing to properly identify all tribes affected by the project.
Underwater data centers carry real ecological risk, including thermal pollution, marine heat wave vulnerability, noise, and seafloor disruption.
Carissa Cabrera, CEO and Founder of Futureswell, is building a global community turning ocean anxiety into conservation storytelling and action.
New Dartmouth research shows octopuses can learn to use mirrors to locate hidden food, the first evidence of this ability in an invertebrate.
