Orcadian Energy plc has started an assessment for a potential offshore power station to develop the Earlham and Orwell gas fields, within P2680, in the southern UK North Sea.
DATA CENTRE
The power station would capture carbon dioxide for reinjection into the Earlham reservoir to “boost pressure and recovery”.
Generated low-carbon power would also supply a “co-located offshore data centre, as the first phase of an islanded, low-carbon, offshore grid”, dubbed the Earlham gigagrid.
Orcadian is establishing a new company called Earlham Gigagrid Ltd for the development.
The company said that the gigagrid could be among the “first offshore data centres of scale in the UK” and meet demands for artificial intelligence (AI) without government subsidies or higher utility bills.
The platform would support a 200 megawatt “offshore data centre hall” and provide the energy for it.
The company estimates that Earlham contains 114 billion cubic feet methane, while Orwell could produce a further 31 bcf of methane, which could be monetised.
Chief executive officer Steve Brown said that third-party investors would be invited to join the project.
LOAN
Orcadian added it had also agreed deferred repayment of a £1.34 million loan, including capitalised interest, to The Independent Power Corporation Ltd.
Payment, with a fixed 8.5% interest per annum, must now be paid by 31 December 2027.