Professor questions Finland’s 145 planned data centres

Finland has 145 data centres in the pipeline, but Aalto University professor Jukka Manner says the pace is too fast and the country lacks a clear picture of the projects’ costs and benefits, Yle reports.

Manner, a professor of networking technology, says it is unclear how much of the investment and work will remain in Finland. He also warns that the projects could weaken Finnish exports and increase electricity shortages and prices for consumers and industry.

At Microsoft’s data centre construction site in Espoo, Manner described the facility as “a giant refrigerator” that will need to keep thousands of heat-producing computers cool. The planned maximum power capacity of the Hepokorvenkallio data centre is about 200 megawatts, or 200,000 kilowatts. That is equivalent to the output of 20,000 household sauna heaters rated at 10 kilowatts each. Unlike saunas, which are heated once or twice a week, a data centre uses energy around the clock.

Manner estimates that Microsoft’s four planned data centres could raise Finland’s total electricity consumption by 10 per cent. At full capacity, he says, their energy needs would be about equal to the electricity consumption of 2.2 million people.

He questions how much of the announced investment will benefit Finland. Google has said it has invested a total of 4.5 billion euros in Hamina, and announced 13 billion euros in investments across four locations in September. Manner says the domestic share of such spending is not clearly reported. He also points to foreign companies and workers involved in construction, and says some of the computers installed in the centres may be made elsewhere.

Data centres are often presented as a source of future income for smaller towns, but Manner says decisions should be based on reliable information rather than expectations. He fears increased electricity demand could raise prices for households and traditional industries, including forestry, chemicals and metals.

Using waste heat can be difficult, though Microsoft’s Espoo data centre is an exception: its heat is due to be supplied to the district heating network. Manner says Finland should assess the overall effects of the data centre expansion before the projects proceed.