Data centres host large computers and servers that run data transfer, cloud services, and artificial intelligence. They consume a lot of electricity.
Founded in 2009 in Iceland, atNorth designs and builds energy-efficient data centres, especially for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. The company has data centres in Finland, Sweden and Denmark and Iceland.
“Due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence and high-performance technologies, demand for data centre capacity is growing rapidly, so we have ambitious growth targets in the Nordics,” says Anna Kristín Pálsdóttir, Director of Development at atNorth.
In Finland, the company operates two data centres which it purchased from Advania two years ago: one in Vallila, Helsinki and one in Nihtisilta, Espoo.
A third 40-megawatt data centre will also be completed in Espoo by the end of March. In addition, a data centre being built in Myllykoski, Kouvola, will come online at the end of the year. It initially has a capacity of 60 megawatts, but when it is fully complete, this will increase to several hundred megawatts.
In total, there are currently twenty data centres in Finland, and more will come.
Finland is regarded in many ways as an attractive location—not least because of the strong and reliable grid.
“Finland also has plenty of renewable energy and a cool and even climate, which enables the use of energy-efficient cooling systems. In addition, Finland has excellent fibre optic connections and low-latency communication networks, which in addition to a skilled workforce make Finland an ideal location for data centres,” adds Pálsdóttir.
Close to power production
Fingrid’s main grid and the proximity to electricity production make for an attractive location for a data centre.
Pálsdóttir says that the proximity to sustainable electricity and the main grid is important to the company as it can reduce costs and enable direct connections that benefit both the producer and the consumer.
“In addition, enough land is needed for investment, good network connections and the market should be close by. In Finland, just like in the other Nordic countries, the criteria are easily met, as there is a lot of affordable renewable energy available.”
Open dialogue already in the design phase is important with local service providers, municipalities, electricity and energy companies, and Fingrid.
“We prefer locations where the use of waste heat contributes to the circular economy and lowers the carbon footprint.”
“We equip our data centres with advanced cooling and heat recycling systems to maximise energy efficiency. That is why we prefer locations where the use of waste heat contributes to the circular economy and lowers the carbon footprint,” says Pálsdóttir.
At both atNorth sites under construction in Finland, waste heat is recycled into the district heating network in cooperation with the local energy company.
Demand-side management is possible
As the share of wind power in electricity production increases, the system becomes increasingly dependent on the weather. Consequently, the role of demand-side management is also emphasised as part of a functioning power system. It would be good to get data centres involved in demand-side management.
“We plan to integrate grid balancing services into our model solution. Dynamic load management could allow us to perform non-critical tasks outside of peak hours to balance the supply of electricity,” says Pálsdóttir.
She explains that data centres can also adjust their energy consumption or production to adapt to network frequency fluctuations Fast Frequency Reserve (FFR) solutions.
“In addition, data centres can store excess energy in their backup system batteries when the grid has an oversupply and feed it back into the grid during times of high consumption.”
