HELSINKI, March 17 (Xinhua)-- United States-based software giant Microsoft plans to build a new emission-free data center region in southern Finland and Finnish energy company Fortum will connect it to a large-scale waste heat recycling district heating network, providing emission-free heating for customers in the area, Fortum said in a press release issued on Thursday.
Fortum called this the world's largest waste heat recovery project for data centers, and Finnish national broadcaster Yle described it as "one of the biggest single ICT (information and communications technology) investments in Finnish history."
The data centers will use 100 percent emission-free electricity and Fortum will transfer the clean heat from the server cooling process to homes, services and business premises that are connected to its district heating system.
The project will make use of Fortum's existing district heating infrastructure. The company estimated that the emission-free heat generated by the data centers will cover about 40 percent of the needs of roughly 250,000 district heating users.
"By tapping into waste heat from data centers, we can provide clean heat for homes, businesses and public buildings in Espoo's and the neighboring communities' district heating network in Finland, and reduce about 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually," said Markus Rauramo, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Fortum, in a press release.
"The decision to invest in a data center that also provides surplus heat to our cities and homes is a win-win," said Sanna Marin, prime minister of Finland, adding that it will accelerate the country's digital growth and make its energy system greener.
Marin said she expected this cooperative project to serve as a "model to other countries and cities looking for means to achieve the double transformation of climate neutrality and digital competitiveness." ■