- The Nordics’ renewable energy and efficient cooling attract data centre investments.
- Collaboration and policy innovation are key to Europe’s sustainable digital infrastructure.
What happened: Nordic lessons in sustainable data centres
The Nordic region is leading sustainable data centre operations, leveraging renewable energy, efficient cooling, and stable economies. A recent panel explored how Europe can adopt these practices.
Denmark, the Nordics’ second-largest data centre market, is set for a sixfold capacity increase by 2030. Henrik Hansen, CEO of the Danish Data Centre Association, stressed multi-sector collaboration for sustainable growth.
Equinix VP Judith Gardiner highlighted the Nordics’ strategic investment in digital infrastructure and regulatory support, citing Sweden and Finland’s nuclear waste management as a model for long-term sustainability.
Newcomers like GreenScale Data Centres see the Nordic region as ideal due to stable renewable energy. Sustainability Director Anna Dowson noted its reliability over solar power in Southern Europe.
Experts emphasized knowledge-sharing and public-private partnerships. Isabelle Kemlin (RISE Research Institute of Sweden) urged closer collaboration with policymakers for efficient infrastructure development.
The panel discussed the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), requiring annual sustainability reporting for data centres. While promoting transparency, experts flagged challenges in policy harmonisation across Europe.
Modernising legacy infrastructure is crucial, as aging data centres pose sustainability risks. Hansen cited the European Data Centre Association: If you don’t build new, you must maintain old systems indefinitely.
Why it’s important
As data centre demand surges, the Nordic model offers a blueprint for sustainable expansion, focusing on renewable energy, advanced cooling, and policy-driven collaboration.
The revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) sets new reporting standards, but regional disparities in implementation could pose challenges.
Long-term investment is key, as VC-driven models may not align with sustainability goals. Experts stressed the modernisation of legacy data centres to meet efficiency standards.
Public-private partnerships are vital for aligning industry needs with policy, ensuring digital infrastructure grows sustainably.
As AI and cloud computing drive growth, Scandinavian sustainability practices could shape a greener European data centre landscape.
