Norwegian renewable investment firm Magnora has taken a majority stake in a planned data center project in Finland.

Announced this week, the company is joining as the majority owner in an ongoing data center project in Hämeenlinna, Finland.

The 150,000 sqm (1.61 million sq ft), 120MW facility is being developed together with Northern Europe Energy Group (NEEG) and is expected to reach the ready-to-build stage by the end of 2026.

The project was initiated by Northern Europe Energy Group last year, with Magnora now holding a 70 percent ownership stake in the project through a joint venture (JV) with NEEG owning 30 percent.

Magnora was initially founded in 2001 and transitioned into a dedicated renewable energy investor in 2018, since investing in a number of wind, solar, and battery projects. The company recently acquired a majority stake in Norwegian data center developer Storespeed.

At the time of the acquisition, Storespeed operated a single colo facility in Halden, Norway, with an installed capacity of approximately 1MW and the potential to scale up to 5MW.

In December, the firm announced work had started on a 100MW data center project on the western coast of Norway in Kristiansund.

The company is also targeting data center development in Sweden, but hasn’t detailed any planned projects yet.

Founded in 2021, Northern Europe Energy Group is a Norwegian-Baltic energy infrastructure development company with sites in the Nordics and Baltics.

News that a company tied to NEEG was looking to develop a 120MW project in Hämeenlinna’s MORE industrial park surfaced in November.

“We are excited to partner with Magnora and the municipality,” said Tor Arne Pedersen, chairman of Northern Europe Energy Group. “Magnora’s financial strength, industrial experience, and market insight, combined with strong municipal support and our local expertise, provide a solid foundation for delivering an attractive, large-scale data center project. For Northern Europe Energy Group, this transaction represents one of several strategic steps toward building a valuable Northern European portfolio of energy transition and digital infrastructure projects.”

Hämeenlinna is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme, some 100km north of Helsinki. The 700-hectare MORE park was born out of the merging of two existing industrial parks – Moreeni in Hämeenlinna and Rastikangas in Janakkala. Construction and development of both sites began around the year 2000, combining under the new name in 2020.

“The City of Hämeenlinna is delighted about the vitality boost brought by the data center. This project represents a significant step forward in advancing technological development, economic growth, and sustainable development in our community,” added Ari Räsänen, director of relocation services at the city of Hämeenlinna’s Linna Business Development Ltd.

Most of Finland’s data centers are located in the country’s capital, Helsinki. Established operators, including the likes of Verne, Equinix, and atNorth, have a presence in Finland, while new operators such as Polarnode, FCDC, Arcem, and Hyperco are planning multiple developments across the country. International operators, including QTS and DayOne, are also looking to develop in Finland.

Finland’s environment, abundant land, and cheap green energy have attracted increasing numbers of data center developers, with the Finnish Data Center Association estimating that live capacity in the country will increase from 285MW in 2025 to 1.5GW in 2030.