Lappeenranta protest draws biggest turnout against data centres

About 20 people took part in a protest against data centres in Lappeenranta on Monday, according to Yle. The turnout was the largest recorded at similar events held in Finland over the weekend and afterwards.

The protest was organised by Järvi-Suomen puolesta, an association campaigning on behalf of Finland’s Lakeland region. Similar demonstrations have also been held in Kouvola, Mikkeli, Koria and Lahti. The events are believed to be the first protests against data centres held in Finland.

In Kouvola, the event was reportedly attended mainly by members of the association rather than local residents, Helsingin Sanomat reported.

“The reception in Kouvola was lukewarm because people are afraid to take part. The employment provided by data centres is such an important issue for them that it discourages participation,” said Pekka Väisänen, chair of Järvi-Suomen puolesta.

Association opposes power transmission line

The association is seeking to block construction of the 550-kilometre Harjulinja power transmission line, which would run through five regions in the Lakeland area.

According to the association, the line would mainly serve “electricity-hungry data centres”. It is also calling for uncontrolled data centre construction to be curbed. The association describes data centres as unnatural and environmentally destructive facilities that take space away from both nature and people.

Väisänen said the association believed the impacts of data centres’ water consumption and backup power plants had been presented too positively. He said the coming years would bring severe disappointments, including for municipalities where data centres have already been built or are under construction.

“We are permanently destroying our living environment. These huge buildings, covering hectares, will remain here even after artificial intelligence has moved elsewhere,” Väisänen said.

Sara Backman, a Lappeenranta city councillor from the Left Alliance, said she attended the protest so that people could anticipate the consequences of data centres rather than learn about them through experience.

Backman referred, among other things, to information that data centres accounted for 21 per cent of Ireland’s electricity consumption in 2023.

Data centre construction under way in Lappeenranta

Construction of a data centre in Lappeenranta’s Pajarila district began at a rapid pace in July.

Several data centre buildings are planned on a site covering just over 40 hectares beside Highway 6. The facility is intended for artificial intelligence computing and is described as one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

Construction of the Lappeenranta artificial intelligence facility is expected to employ up to 700 people. The workforce is expected to be recruited locally.