Finnish construction company YIT is planning to develop data centres for clients across the Nordic region powered by wind turbines, hydro power and solar panels, with the added bonus of being able to sell on any excess heat energy.
YIT has strong ties in the region and is already eyeing up sites in Norway, Finland and Sweden, and can assess an area’s suitability and secure building permits in advance.
It also plans to handle relationships with the local municipalities in the Nordics.
YIT Sweden’s business and technical development manager Fredrik Sarvell said: “The process as a whole aims for net zero carbon footprint, so we can safely say that the result is a data centre with minimal emissions.
“The client does not have to negotiate with a lot of different organisations – the only thing the client needs to do is to tell us what requirements and needs they have.”
Any surplus heat created by the green data processing plants can be sold to nearby agriculture businesses, where it can be used to grow food, the company said.
Excess heat can also be sold and transferred to existing heating systems, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, YIT added.
Data processing is an energy-intensive business and the companies that run data centres will be aware of the growing demands to be carbon neutral, or even carbon positive, the company said.