A new data center is being planned in western Finland.

First reported by local press, including Yle and Vasabladet, renewable energy firm Aurinkokarhu is looking to develop a 60MW facility in Närpiö (aka Närpes), a town in Ostrobothnia.

The company has signed a preliminary agreement with private landowners to purchase 18 hectares of land. Part of the land is owned by the City of Närpiö.

Aurinkokarhu has signed a letter of intent with Närpiön District Heating (aka Närpes Fjärrvärme) to channel the facility’s waste heat into the district heating network.

Aurinkokarhus’ CEO Andreas Renfält told press discussions are underway with potential investors and end users of the data center.

Founded in 2020, Aurinkokarhus is focused on developing solar and battery farms. None of its projects are live yet, but the company claims a pipeline totaling 800MW of solar capacity and 3.2GW of battery storage capacity.

Aurinkokarhus also claims 160MW of planned data center projects.

“The surplus heat from the data center can account for the majority of our district heating production. The collaboration ensures that we can offer competitive heating in the future. If the data center is realized, we will also not need the planned electric boiler,” Markus Böling, CEO of Närpes Fjärrvärme, said.

Ostrobothnia is a region in western Finland.

We put Finland’s growing data center market under the microscope in issue #60 of DCD>Magazine. Register here now to read it for free.