The information and communications technology (ICT) industry is heavy on the environment. Servers consume massive amounts of electricity, while water is often needed to cool the equipment down. The explosion of generative AI is only increasing the burden.

An article in the Washington Post (paywall) uses research from the University of California to put some numbers on the issue. According to the report, asking ChatGPT-4 to write a 100-word email requires the same amount of electricity as leaving 14 LED bulbs burning for an hour. It also consumes more than half a liter of water. 

When you stack it all together, the environmental impact is staggering. If one in 10 people in the United States asks ChatGPT to write a 100-word email just once per week, the total electricity is equivalent to that used by all Washington D.C. households for 20 days. The water consumed would be more than 435 million liters. 

Finland has more than 50 construction-ready data center sites.

With CO2 targets to reach and customers demanding accountability, companies are increasingly looking for solutions to this growing challenge. Many are finding answers in Finland. With its cool climate, clean energy, abundant fresh water and robust digital infrastructure, the country is a prime location for data centers. 

“Finland has more than 50 construction-ready data center sites. We’ve designed these to support projects of all sizes ­– from small facilities up to those with 1,000 megawatts of capacity or more. Renewable energy, excellent connectivity and top-notch security are all part of our offering too,” says Jouni Salonen, Senior Advisor at Invest in Finland, part of Business Finland.

Natural advantages. Strategic incentives

Google was one of the first big international players on the scene, setting up a data center in 2009 in an old paper mill in the port city of Hamina. In 2019, the company announced a EUR 1.2 billion investment to double capacity.

Other companies with facilities in Finland include data center operators like Hetzner from Germany and Equinix from the United States. Pan-Nordic and Baltic telecom operator Telia has a data center site too.

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking also decided to locate the pre-exascale supercomputer LUMI in Finland. Used for a range of research and industrial applications, LUMI is Europe’s most powerful supercomputer and ranks among the top five globally. 

Microsoft is another of the big data center names. The company has acquired more than 21 hectares of land near Helsinki to set up a facility. A partnership with Finnish energy giant Fortum will harness the center’s excess heat and feed it into the district heating system. Finland’s most common heating method, district heating produces heat close to where it’s needed. Approximately 90% of the country’s apartment blocks are efficiently heated in this way.

Electricity is among Europe’s most affordable in Finland and the grid reliability is second to none.

The district heating collaboration between Microsoft and Fortum will cover up to 40% of the local region’s heating needs. It’s the world’s largest project its kind and is set to reduce CO2 emissions by some 400K tons – covering up to 3% of Finland’s reduction target.

“Finland is really ahead of the game in terms of energy infrastructure. More than 60% of the power in our grid comes from renewables. Our electricity is among Europe’s most affordable and our grid reliability is second to none,” says Salonen.

Finland has also optimized its tax structure for data centers. A reduced electricity tax rate of EUR 0.5/MWh – the lowest permitted by EU regulations – contributes to the country’s attractiveness. Data centers can be connected directly to the national grid, eliminating local grid fees.

When it comes to cooling, water in Finland is abundant. The country’s renewable water supply works out to almost 20,000 cubic meters per person – among the highest in the world.

High-speed links and trusted privacy

Another aspect of Finland’s attractiveness is the C-Lion1 submarine cable, which enables high-speed connectivity to continental Europe. With capacity for 144 terabits per second, it’s at the cutting edge of fiber-optic technology and one of the world’s best data-transmission cables. Latency to Frankfurt, for example, is less than 20 milliseconds.

Finland is home to more than 100 cybersecurity companies.

Data flows from Finland are set to get another boost through the Far North Fiber project. It’s a plan to connect Asia, Europe and North America via a submarine cable running through the Arctic. The EUR 1.15 billion project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

All these infrastructure developments are underpinned by Finland’s leadership in data privacy. The country is home to more than 100 cybersecurity companies, many of which contribute to securing the data held on Finnish soil. 

In addition to following GDPR and other relevant legal frameworks, Finland has implemented legislation that limits the gathering of intelligence information. Any interception or monitoring of data requires a court-issued warrant, valid for only one month at a time.

Several data center projects advanced in Finland in 2024

• Icelandic Borealis Data Center is expanding to Kajaani in Central Finland.
• Fortum is planning to develop large data center areas in Rauma and Orimattila in Western Finland.
• Data center developer Hyperco made preliminary agreement on over 12-hectare site in Kouvola, Southern Finland.
• Icelandic atNorth has decided to expand its data center plans in Kouvola, Southern Finland, by signing a Letter of Intent with Redevefor a 24-hectarearea opposite the 21-hectare site it has already acquired.
• Google announced the expansion of its large data centrein Hamina, Southeast Finland.
• Google's parent company Alphabet is planning to expand its cloud and data center infrastructure in Finland in Northern Finland.
• UK-based Bilt Tek is launching a 70-MW data center in Kemi, Lapland, in early 2025.
• FinCapDC Corp, part of Finnish investment company FinCapis planning up to 100-MW data center in the Lahti region.
• UK-based XTX Markets is investing hundreds of millions of euros in a new data center in Kajaani.
• Verne is planning a new data center campus in Mäntsälä.