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World's first offshore gas-powered data centre could be built off Norfolk coast

12 0
17.07.2026

Orcadian Energy, a London-listed oil and gas explorer, has unveiled plans to build a power station and AI data centre in the sea 65 miles off Great Yarmouth.

The firm says the site would look to sell capacity to the likes of Google, Amazon and Microsoft, while avoiding adding further pressure on the UK's power grid, at a time of surging demand from data centres. 

Great Yarmouth beach (Image: � ARCHANT NORFOLK 2008)

Orcadian holds the licence for the Earlham gas field in that area of the North Sea, and wants to build a single offshore platform to extract gas from there and a neighbouring field called Orwell. 

That gas would then be piped to an adjacent platform housing the power station itself, generating electricity for a purpose-built AI data centre nearby. 

None of it would connect back to the National Grid. 

Instead of a power cable running to shore, the........

© Eastern Daily Press