Could the same thing happen with AI data centers installed under the sea?

You may have read or heard about a company planning to install an Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) data center around Puerto Rico’s beaches, and thought to yourself, “That doesn’t sound right. Could that really be true?” The answer: yes, it’s true.
On the other hand, you might be hearing about this for the first time by reading this article, which leads you to wonder, “How is it possible I hadn’t heard about this? With so many laws on the books, isn’t there one that requires something like this to be publicly announced in Puerto Rico? Shouldn’t there be a public hearing covered on TV and in the newspapers so I could see it and learn more?”
If you’re surprised you haven’t heard about this before, don’t be. That’s because Puerto Rico’s laws and regulations weren’t designed to guarantee that you’ll find out about projects like this one before they’re built. A recent case where we saw this happen was the Esencia tourism megaproject in Cabo Rojo. In August 2026, the Permits Management Office (“OGPe”) approved the project’s Siting Consultation – a project that represents at least a $2 billion investment on the island’s southwest coast – without holding a public hearing for that stage, despite more than 800 residents formally requesting a participatory process. The developers maintained that they already fulfilled that requirement in an earlier phase held in March 2025. Opponents point out that, since then, 10 new studies have been added to the record that never went through public scrutiny. Amid widespread opposition to the project, the Puerto Rico Senate announced it will investigate the project through its own hearings, with the first one held on September 1. If a hotel-and-residential project on land generates this much controversy, what would happen if someone tried to install AI data centers beneath our beaches, in a way that’s practically invisible?
Today, Farrant Explains covers who proposed this project, how it could obtain permits to operate under Puerto Rico law, and how those laws compare to the United States and the European Union. We’ll also summarize the conversation we had with the leaders of a company that has considered doing this, and tell you why this should matter to you, even if you live on top of one of our mountains and never go to the beach or a pier.
I. Who is Seabase, and what do they want to do?
According to our conversation with Reilly McAdams, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (”CEO”) of Seabase, this is a company incorporated in Delaware as Seabase Industries Inc., headquartered in Houston, that builds modular, containerized computing units designed to sit at or near the seafloor, close to ports, and cooled with seawater instead of fresh water or electricity-hungry air conditioning systems. Prior to its Delaware incorporation, the company registered two Puerto Rico corporations on March 6, 2026: Seabase Network LLC, registration number 575350, and Seabase Industries LLC, registration number 575352.

Both Puerto Rico companies list Reilly McAdams (co-founder and CEO of Seabase, according to its website), Oliver Willcox (co-founder and president), and Ashby Green (CFO) as authorized persons.
On its website, Seabase states that it differentiates itself from competitors because its architecture separates a long-life subsea platform from shorter-life computing equipment that can be replaced over time. The company also sells a product called Nori, designed to let customers reserve and monitor their equipment’s capacity.
Seabase’s co-founders, CEO Reilly McAdams and COO Ollie Willcox, were interviewed by News Is My Business in May 2026. At the time, they said the company was evaluating sites in Ponce, San Juan, and Puerto Rico’s east coast, and seeking partnerships with universities and government agencies, naming the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez campus in that interview. McAdams also noted that Puerto Rico relies too heavily on infrastructure in the mainland United States, pointing out that most of the island’s computing and technological capacity is located in Miami, which makes the island highly vulnerable if an undersea fiber-optic connection were ever damaged.
During our conversations with Seabase in September 2026, the company told us that, although it has evaluated potential sites in Puerto Rico, it has not selected a specific location or advanced a project. They also told us that, while Puerto Rico “remains an attractive market, it is not currently among our primary near-term deployment locations,” and that their current work is exploring opportunities in the continental United States and internationally, including other Caribbean locations.
On the technical side, Seabase’s public materials describe its “pods” as units running between 0.5 and 3 megawatts each, in standard containers, which are aggregated into clusters of 10 to 20 megawatts, using closed seawater cooling systems instead of freshwater evaporative systems. According to McAdams, their subsea systems use a closed internal cooling loop that releases heat to the surrounding marine environment, avoiding the evaporative cooling and freshwater consumption common in many conventional data centers. This architecture, he told us, could also reduce land requirements by locating computing infrastructure at sea or within existing marine and port environments.
When asked whether this heat-releasing system would generate any impact, he replied that it’s a passive process, in which a closed internal loop transfers heat through external heat exchangers rather than pumping seawater through the data center. He added that they would model the thermal plume for each site, designing the project so that localized temperature changes remain minimal, and that they plan to be fully transparent with the public about their data and marine impact.
We also asked Seabase whether a project like this would affect public beach access, or restrict the use of boats nearby. They told us they don’t expect their projects to restrict beach access, fishing, or boating, since they would look for locations with sufficient depth and distance from shore to stay away from beaches, swimming areas, recreational boating routes, navigation channels, and important fishing grounds. Their goal, they said, is for people using the beaches and boats near these pods to essentially not know the infrastructure is there.
In short, as of today, Seabase has no immediate plans to build a data center on our beaches. However, that doesn’t rule out Seabase — or another company — expressing interest in building a data center in our waters in the future. Consequently, in this next section, Farrant Explains which laws and regulations would address this situation.
II. What Puerto Rico laws and regulations govern building an AI data center on our beaches?
As of this writing, Puerto Rico has no law that regulates the construction of AI data centers on our land or in our waters. That said, should Seabase or another company want to begin the process of obtaining permits today to build a data center at sea, there are three legal frameworks that could apply. Today, Farrant Explains through each one.
Framework 1: Environmental Review (Law 416-2004 and the OGPe/JCA process).
Puerto Rico’s most important environmental statute is the Environmental Public Policy Act (Law 416-2004). It requires public agencies to evaluate significant environmental impacts that projects may cause before granting permits. These permits are typically issued by the Permit Management Office (“OGPe”), working with the Environmental Quality Board (“JCA“), which evaluate projects under the Joint Regulation for the Evaluation and Issuance of Permits Related to Development, Land Use, and Business Operations (Regulation 9473 of the Planning Board, approved June 16, 2023) (“Joint Regulation”), and the JCA’s Regulation for the Environmental Evaluation Process (Regulation 8858 of November 23, 2016).
Under this law and its regulations, developers submit an Environmental Assessment (“EA”) for their projects or, when the environmental impact could be significant, submit an Environmental Impact Statement (“DIA,” for its Spanish acronym). Rules 2.2.2.4(c) and 3.1.3.3(a)(1) of the Joint Regulation establish that any discretionary matter requiring a public hearing, or requiring a DIA, will be adjudicated within 180 days. This mechanism, once triggered, guarantees a public hearing and a defined timeframe. The important question, however, is determining whether a project requires an EA, a DIA, or neither.
Framework 2: Site Consultation (“Consulta de Ubicación”).
A pod like Seabase’s — which houses an AI data center placed under the sea — doesn’t fit any existing zoning category. For cases like this, Rule 2.2.3.2(d) of the Joint Regulation creates a discretionary process called a “Site Consultation” precisely for uses that, by their nature or intensity, need to be located in a specific place that existing zoning maps don’t anticipate. This is the category the Joint Regulation uses for novel projects. This matters because these Consultation processes have much narrower public-disclosure requirements than the DIA process, specifically:
- Notice only needs to be given to adjoining property owners, by certified mail, within no more than 5 days after the application is filed (Rule 2.2.2.2(a)).
- Holding a public hearing is discretionary, under Rule 2.2.3.19. This rule states that a public hearing will only be held “in cases where the regulations in effect so require, or in cases the Adjudicative Board deems appropriate, in which case any interested person who requests to be heard on the matter under consideration will be allowed to participate.”
- Standing to challenge or intervene in a determination is limited. Rule 2.2.3.4(a) only grants standing to the property owner, optionee, or lessee — personally or through an authorized representative — in the case of private projects, or to the head of the agency or their authorized representative in the case of a public project. Likewise, subsection (c) of this Rule establishes that revocation of a consultation may be pursued by the Adjudicative Board “on its own initiative or at the request of a person with a legitimate interest,” a term that is not clearly defined.
In short: if a project is approved through a Site Consultation rather than a DIA, the public-hearing mechanisms many people assume exist would simply never be triggered here.
Framework 3: Port Zone — Ports Authority.
Section 7.3.4 of the Joint Regulation provides that, within a Port Zone (“ZP”), the Ports Authority (“Ports”) — not DRNA — is responsible for controlling and administering Puerto Rico’s ports, the navigable waters that form part of port zones, publicly owned piers, submerged lands under those piers, the maritime-terrestrial zones located within any port zone, and all buildings and structures situated there that are owned by or under the dominion of Puerto Rico. This is likely why Seabase told News Is My Business that it was in communication with the Ports Authority. Outside a ZP, DRNA’s permitting processes for maritime-terrestrial zones would apply instead, under Puerto Rico’s 1968 Piers and Ports Act, Law 151-1968. In these cases, DRNA may permit water-dependent uses such as piers and platforms, but cannot convert submerged lands into private property.
Beyond these three frameworks, a project like this could also fall under the following laws and processes:
1. Energy Interconnection.
A 10-20 megawatt facility like those described by Seabase would need to connect to the electrical grid, and would therefore fall under the jurisdiction of the Energy Bureau (“PREB”) and any other agency handling the interconnection study. Additionally, unlike a growing list of U.S. states, Puerto Rico has no large-load-specific tariff, nor any law or ordinance specifically regulating data centers.
On this point, Seabase told us its goal is not to “add a large new load to a grid that’s already fairly constrained. We’re evaluating models that pair computing infrastructure with new power generation and battery storage, to potentially support grid resilience and flexibility where the local system allows.”
2. Tax Incentive Decrees under Act 60
Puerto Rico’s Incentives Code, Act 60-2019, consolidates incentive programs under the Office of Business Incentives, which cover infrastructure and renewable energy projects, in addition to reviewing benefits for operating within a federal Opportunity Zone. To obtain a decree approving an incentive, the entity must apply to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (“DDEC”), and this process does not require a public hearing.
We asked Seabase whether any of its Puerto Rico entities held, or had applied for, a tax incentive decree under Act 60. Its CEO, Reilly McAdams, told us that none of its entities holds a decree or has a pending application under Act 60 or any other tax incentive, stating that the entities are “ordinary corporate entities.”
3. Dedicated Telecommunications Infrastructure
Rule 9.11 of the Joint Regulation governs the construction, installation, and siting of telecommunications towers and facilities through the Telecommunications Bureau (“NET”), an entity under the Puerto Rico Public Service Regulatory Board (“JRSP”). Rule 9.11.11 establishes that public hearings will be required for variance requests related to the installation or siting of telecommunications towers and facilities, when these respond to technological, emergency, or public-safety needs.
While this is a much stronger standard than the one for Site Consultations, it applies to few cases. If Seabase’s or another company’s fiber-optic or connection infrastructure requires a variance, this would be the only process under the Joint Regulation that would require the entity to publish a newspaper notice and participate in a public hearing.
4. Federal Regulations and Permits
Since installing a data center at sea would take place in navigable waters of the United States, a permit would almost certainly be required under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, 33 U.S.C. § 403, as well as a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, in addition to a license for laying submarine cables if fiber connections are placed in waters under federal jurisdiction.
III. How does Puerto Rico’s legal framework compare to that of the United States and the European Union?
- Compared to the United States — Puerto Rico’s environmental review process closely follows the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), to the point that Puerto Rico’s regulations address situations in which a local agency co-leads an environmental review process with a federal counterpart under NEPA.
That said, during 2026, a number of state legislatures passed laws requiring companies that want to build AI data centers to disclose their plans before construction begins. New Jersey, for example, now requires data center operators to publicly disclose how much water and energy they consume (S3379/A4096), in addition to recently passing the “Data Center Fair Share Act (A5462),” which establishes separate electricity rates for data centers.
At the federal level, Representative LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) introduced the AI Data Center Site Selection Transparency Act of 2026, which would require data center developers to disclose the location of selected sites to elected officials and the public at least 180 days before taking any definitive development step. This bill was filed because the industry has been signing nondisclosure agreements (“NDAs”) with public officials to prohibit them from speaking about these projects or their potential impact. A number of states have moved to ban public officials and developers from signing NDAs with each other.
In Puerto Rico, no one has prohibited the government from signing NDAs with these entities, and we haven’t found any bill attempting to regulate AI data centers.
- Compared to the European Union (“EU”). The EU regulates this completely differently: it requires ongoing sustainability reporting, rather than disclosure before a project begins. Under Article 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive, EU member states must ensure that data centers with at least 500 kilowatts of installed information technology power make all their energy performance information public, and publish it in a shared, EU-wide database covering approximately 24 indicators. The European Commission expects to finalize an EU-wide classification and labeling process. The 10-20 MW clusters Seabase plans to use, according to its website, exceed the EU’s 500 kW minimum. As a result, if their project was built in Europe, they would have to report to the public, every year, how much water and renewable energy they use, and what their energy efficiency is. In Puerto Rico, under existing law, they would not have to disclose any of this.
In short: Puerto Rico regulates whether a project gets approved. But for an innovative project like this one, it appears the project could be approved through a legal framework that contemplates discretionary public hearings and gives the public limited standing to object. Meanwhile, U.S. states are focused on regulating whether the public is notified of these projects before they’re built. Finally, the EU regulates whether the public needs to keep being informed about the project indefinitely. Puerto Rico’s legal framework, by comparison, is much weaker at the outset of a project than these jurisdictions, and stays silent about everything else.
IV. Why should this matter to you?
Because, even though Seabase’s CEO told us Puerto Rico is not currently among its short-term priorities, there are at least 3 aspects of this story you should be aware of, regardless of what Seabase or another company does in the future.
- The precedent that will be set. Seabase and its leadership gave us detailed, specific answers about the logic behind their unit placement, their thermal plume modeling, and their stated interest in not impacting marine flora and fauna. This is the kind of communication and exchange that many companies don’t offer unless they’re forced to by a government or judicial authority. This exchange was a good example of how we’d expect Seabase to behave if it decides to pick this project back up in Puerto Rico. However, their good faith and willingness are not a substitute for the fact that this kind of exchange should be one required by law, and the next company that wants to come to Puerto Rico to propose building an AI data center under the water might not be as receptive to dialogue as they were. The current gap in the Joint Regulation that allows these site consultations within a process that doesn’t guarantee public hearings isn’t filled simply by a company’s willingness to answer our questions. It would also be vital to ensure there’s a legal framework in place to verify that a company actually follows through on everything it promises.
- Energy and water use. Seabase’s description of its approach — passive, closed-loop cooling systems that avoid pumping seawater through the system, along with its stated interest in generating and storing its own energy rather than becoming an additional burden on our current grid — sounds like a very different model from the one conventional data centers use, and one that could be much more responsible and sustainable if it’s actually implemented. However, Seabase’s proposal is, for now, simply a theoretical one, since no sites have been chosen and no environmental analysis has been completed. As a result, the challenges of building data centers on top of Puerto Rico’s fragile, collapsing water systems remain real. As a matter of fact, I’m writing these lines on the fourth consecutive night without water in my home. These challenges apply to any project Seabase or any other company might want to implement here.
- The urgent need to demand transparency. Our exchange with Seabase was a small example that shows the need to formalize transparency processes at a project’s pre-development stage. Seabase answered all of our questions simply because they wanted to talk with us, not because a law required it. But a future company looking to establish itself in Puerto Rico for the same purpose might not have the same willingness that Seabase showed. As a result, Puerto Rico needs to create laws similar to those several states are passing, requiring advance disclosure of this kind of project, while we wait for Congress to hopefully one day pass the AI Data Center Site Selection Transparency Act or a similar law.
V. Best Practices and Recommendations for Companies and the Public
- Publish site-specific environmental modeling before being legally required to. During our conversation, Seabase gave us a lot of technical detail about its project and answered all of our questions. This is precisely the kind of proactive disclosure that should be the industry standard, not the exception. Developers who do this build public trust, since they do it before the law forces them to.
- Establish robust public hearing processes. Laws should prohibit developers from self-selecting into processes that don’t require public hearings in cases like this one. A company’s leadership showing good faith isn’t the same as law, and it can certainly change once a permitting process actually begins. In a case like this, where there are real questions about the impact this kind of project could have on our residents, coastlines, marine flora and fauna, and our water and power systems, public hearing processes need to be held regardless of the developer’s good faith.
- Voluntarily publish water and energy use projections, before an authority requires it. Data center litigation in the United States frequently centers on the use of NDAs that let companies avoid disclosing information like this.
- Publish the review processes underway at OGPe, DRNA, and Ports (the Ports Authority), so the public doesn’t have to figure out which of these agencies has jurisdiction over each part of a project.
- Create community communication and engagement plans. These days, people around the world are skeptical about the risks of AI and how it will affect their lives. Developers of projects like Seabase’s need to be transparent about their intentions and plans, and set and publish goals with metrics the public can verify and track.
- Hold the government accountable. We need to make sure the government follows its own laws, holds public hearings, promotes transparency, and allows people and entities standing to intervene in administrative and judicial processes.
VI. Conclusion
Seabase’s project was never a secret one, and we’re grateful they answered all of our questions much faster and more concretely than many other companies would have. Our exchanges with them introduced us to a company that seriously considered the island for this project, evaluated it, created 2 Puerto Rico corporations, generated local interest, but then concluded that Puerto Rico is not among its short-term priorities — though they’re leaving the door open to return.
Once that day comes, we’ll see how Puerto Rico’s legal framework analyzes and reviews it. The DIA process would guarantee a public hearing where residents can speak up. The Site Consultation process, however — which could be the one chosen to authorize a project as significant as this one — does not require holding public hearings. The transparency Seabase showed in our conversations doesn’t eliminate the need to make sure our own laws guarantee that same transparency, because we don’t want to live in a place where laws are passed to guarantee darkness.
What did you think of this article? Should Puerto Rico allow AI data centers? Do you think a development like this should go through the DIA process or the Site Consultation process? Leave us your comments.




