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Nordic Data Center Projects Heat Up [PM Network](PM Network Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The newest hot spot for data center projects is, in fact, very cold. Tempted by free cooling and low energy costs, more companiesincluding Microsoft, Facebook and Yandex-are building data centers in Nordic countries. When Google finished building a data center in Hamina, Finland three years ago, it sparked wider interest in the Nordic region. In mid-2013, Facebook completed construction on its two-year project to build Luleâ, a data center in Sweden. Microsoft has announced plans to invest more than US$250 million in a new data center in Finland, and communications firm Ericsson has launched a SEK5 billion project to construct two modular data centers in its native Sweden. Russian search firm Yandex and data center provider Digiplex also have launched projects in the region. And Google has announced a euro450 million project to expand its data center's capacity. "The Nordics are an attractive, prime location for strategic data center hubs because they offer plenty of space, 100 percent carbon-neutral electricity production, a reliable electricity grid and a strong local infrastructure," says Tomas Sokolnicki, project manager and investment advisor for the Swedish Data Center Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden. In addition, project sites are also attractive because of their naturally low temperatures, which translate into lower cooling costs for these energy-intensive buildings. Nordic countries are also climbing the ranks of the 2013 Data Centre Risk Index. While the United States and Britain have long held the top spots for data center locations, based on an evaluation of risk factors such as energy costs, connectivity, political stability and environmental infrastructure, Sweden ranked as the third-safest place, up from eighth place in 2012. The seventh, eighth and ninth spots went to Iceland, Norway and Finland, respectively. There are already 250 data centers in Europe, and the industry is expected to launch 50 more such projects in the next few years, according to research firm Gartner. Cool and Collected Many technology companies are looking beyond the passive cost savings of cooler temps and incorporating sustainable design into these projects. Facebook's 27,000-square-meter (290,000-squarefoot) Luleâ center sets a new standard of energy efficiency. The project includes intricate heating and cooling systems that will lower operational costs long after the project's construction: Fresh air enters the building through louvers and then passes through a series of filtering chambers before it enters the server area. Warm air that comes off the data servers rises into a "penthouse" level, where it can be vented outside or used to warm the building's offices. "We're running on 100 percent clean hydroelectric power, and our exhaust is clean air," Niall McEntegart, Facebook's operations manager in Europe, told Bloomberg Businessweek. Opportunity, Cost Nordic countries are courting organizations to the region by offering prepackaged site solutions including local teams of experts in areas of data center management, such as utilities, infrastructure, communications and environmental permits. These teams can facilitate getting the project team up and running, says Mr. Sokolnicki. One of the biggest project challenges for a new company entering the market is tight timelines and the pressure to complete construction swiftly, he says. Yet an uptick in Nordic projects may not mean a seismic shift for the industry. Many providers serving Western Europe will see an increase in latency, or delay, if their data centers are at the edge of the Arctic Circle, Andy Lawrence, vice president of research at 451 Research, told Computer Weekly. "When most co-location providers build data centers, they don't always know who their major customers are going to be. It's probably safer for them to locate their facilities within a low-latency distance of major Western European trading hubs." -Rekha Radhakrishnan SEK5 billion Amount Ericsson will spend on two data centers in Sweden 3 Sweden's rank among safest countries for data center locations (Iceland, Norway and Finland rank 7,8 and 9) 27,000 Size of Facebook's Luleâ, Sweden data center, in square meters "The Nordics are an attractive, Ítrime location or strategic data center hubs because they offer plenty of space, 100 percent carbon-neutral electricity production, a reliable electricity grid and a strong local infrastructure." -Tomas Sokolnicki, Swedish Data Center Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden (c) 2014 Project Management Institute |