Google announces data center expansion in Hamina, Finland

Alphabet’s Google said in a blog post that, starting next year, its Hamina data center on the shores of the Gulf of Finland will be both a hub for digital information and a source of sustainable heat for the district. “In partnership with city-owned energy provider Haminan Energia, we are kicking off our first offsite heat recovery project to reduce our environmental footprint, as well as help warm homes and businesses in this historic port city,” the company said. “We will be recovering heat at the Google Hamina data center, which operates today with carbon-free energy at 97%. This means the recovered heat will also be 97% carbon free. It will represent 80% of the annual heat demand of the local district heating network according to Haminan Energia. Heat coming out of our Finnish data center will be re-routed and provided free of charge by us to the district heating network in nearby Hamina, covering local households, schools and public service buildings.” According to media reports, the company is planning to spend EUR1B to build out the Hamina data center.