Data centre debate divides municipalities over national control

Municipal leaders disagree on whether Finland should coordinate data centre projects nationally, with two defending municipal decision-making and one welcoming a national framework, Yle reports. All three say projects should bring local benefits beyond what Business Finland’s director general Lassi Noponen described as “lights for a fitness trail”.

Noponen has called for national coordination of data centre negotiations and argued that municipalities set too modest conditions for companies. Yle asked leaders in Kajaani, Muhos and Mikkeli for their views.

Google data centre areas are planned for Kajaani and Muhos, both in North Ostrobothnia. Kajaani also has Finnish, British and Icelandic data centres under construction or in operation. In Mikkeli, fewer than ten data centre projects are at different stages of development.

Kajaani Mayor Terho Savolainen and Muhos Municipal Manager Kimmo Hinno oppose giving up local authority over such decisions. Savolainen said the state would find it difficult to restrict which companies a municipality could accept, and argued that municipalities should retain room to act.

Hinno questioned whether the same approach would then be applied to steel and aluminium plants or wind farms. If regulation is needed, he said, it should be set through national legislation covering all industry, rather than data centres alone.

Savolainen noted that Invest in Finland, part of Business Finland, helped bring Google to Kajaani and Muhos. He said that amounted to national cooperation and that the model worked well in these larger cases.

Mikkeli Mayor Janne Kinnunen welcomed the idea of national coordination, while also supporting local application of rules. He said Mikkeli and Kajaani set conditions in line with legislation and business regulations, with the aim of treating companies equally.

Savolainen said Kajaani expects all companies to act responsibly and meet their social responsibilities. The city is in active discussions with several data centre companies about large projects, he said, and Kajaani University of Applied Sciences is also talking with operators about research and development cooperation.

Examples of proposed benefits from Google include public saunas suggested for Muhos and solar panels offered for public buildings in Kajaani. In Mikkeli, the city’s energy company has signed a letter of intent with Compute Nordic to use waste heat in district heating. The regional development company has also compiled a business register to help connect local firms with construction subcontracting work.