Excess heat generated by a new Microsoft data centre in the Helsinki area may be used to warm nearby buildings owing to a new partnership between the tech giant and Finnish energy firm Fortum.
Fortum Microsoft data centre. Credit: Fortum
The Microsoft/Fortum data centre, located in Greater Helsinki, will supply waste heat to as many as 250,000 people. Credit: Fortum
The plant, which is set to run on 100% renewable energy, will see waste heat transferred from the building's systems to supply up to 250,000 users in nearby homes, businesses and service stations.
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The location of the data centre was specifically chosen with this service in mind and makes use of around 900km of underground piping provided by Fortum that runs under the Helsinki metropolitan area into the cities of Espoo and Kauniainen and the town of Kirkkonummi.
Data centres are important for tech companies and serve as a hub for servers, storage or telecoms. They, therefore, require a lot of power.
“Developing solutions for the global climate challenge together with partners is a strategic priority for Fortum, and we are proud to embark on this exceptional journey together with Microsoft", Markus Rauramo, President and CEO of Fortum, said in a statement.
"Sometimes the most sustainable solutions are simple ones: By tapping into waste heat from data centres, we can provide clean heat for homes, businesses and public buildings in Espoo’s and the neighbouring communities’ district heating network in Finland, and reduce about 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
"This is a significant step for a cleaner world, made possible by our joint ambition to mitigate climate change".
District heating is a common method of heating homes in Finland, with some sources claiming it is by far the most common form of heating in the nation.
In essence, it is a heating system popular in cities that generates, captures and distributes heat on a large scale. Traditionally, the heat is transferred through hot water and is pumped through underground pipes.
These networks often make use of fossil fuels, and newer systems are looking to phase these out by using renewable electricity, heat pumps and utilisation of waste heat. Fortum also claims AI will be used to "optimise" operations.
Once the new data centre is up and running, as much as 60% of the area's heating will be generated through waste heat, the company claims. Of this, 40% will be from the data centre region and the remaining from other heat sources such as purified wastewater.
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Finland's Prime Minister described the decision to capture surplus heat and use it to power local homes as a "win-win".
"It will aid Finland's digital growth while making our energy system greener. I also hope that this collaboration can serve as a model to other countries and cities looking for means to achieve the double transformation of climate neutrality and digital competitiveness", PM Sanna Marin said.
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