Finland’s data center boom is gathering pace, with several new projects unveiled since after Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced its biggest-ever European investment in the country last month.
Attracted by the relatively cool climate, renewable power and available grid connections, companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Applied Digital Corp. have unveiled plans data-center investments in Finland in recent weeks. The total tally of projects being planned of executed in the country now exceeds €67 billion ($75 billion).
On Thursday, French AI infrastructure company Sesterce SAS said it plans to invest more than €10 billion in a data-center campus at the former Kaipola paper mill in Jämsä, targeting more than 1 gigawatt of capacity in the long run. While Applied Digital’s designs are also scalable to 1 gigawatt of computing power, the company didn’t disclose a value for its investment.
Nordic data-center operator atNorth ehf is also planning a data center in Salo of up to 230 megawatts.
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Alibaba didn’t disclose details of its project, though it also expects to set up cloud regions in Turkey and Netherlands as it expands its data-center network in Europe and the Middle East. The Chinese technology company is targeting 20 gigawatts of global data-center capacity by 2032.
Finland is attracting data-center developers with its relatively abundant supply of low-carbon electricity, cool climate and large industrial sites, including former factories with existing grid connections.
This week, Google was ordered to halt the preparatory work for its campuses in Muhos and Kajaani and wait for an environmental impact assessment to conclude before further clearing of woodland and other measures affecting nature.
The fast pace at which new data center investments are unveiled has sparked a debate in Finland over the adequacy and price of power, especially for households.
The government is preparing legislation that would allow it to vet projects for grid connections as opposed to the current first come, first serve principle, as well as a law that would require operators to register. There’s widespread consensus in parliament that data centers need better controls.