The technology company Google has consolidated the foundations of the energy transition with the launch of a heat recovery project at its data center near Hamina in southern Finland.
How will Google’s heat recovery project work?
This project aims to use the waste heat generated by the data center to heat homes and local businesses as part of a $1.1 billion investment in the facility. This initiative marks the first time Google has undertaken such a project, according to the technology company itself.
To carry out this project, Google will redirect the waste heat produced by the servers in its data center, using a system of heat exchangers, which will transfer the heat energy to the servers. thermal energy to a piping system connected to the district heating network. The commissioning company is Haminan Energia, a local energy company, which will channel the heat it supplies to homes, schools and public buildings in the region.
Although Google has not specified how many properties will benefit from this system, this heating service will be free of charge and the heat recovery project is expected to cover 80% of the local network’s heating needs when it goes live next year.
Positive local reception
The mayor of Hamina, Ilari Soosalu, has expressed his satisfaction with the continued collaboration with Google, highlighting the company as a role model in moving towards a sustainable future. In addition, Soosalu expressed the city’s pride in hosting Google’s data center in Finland.
One of its Data Centers in Hamina. Source: Google
Recall that Google acquired the Hamina data center in 2009. The facility, built at the former Summa Mill, uses seawater to cool its servers, which is an energy efficiency measure. Over the past 15 years, the facility has undergone several upgrades and, in 2022, Google purchased 50 acres of adjacent land for future expansion.
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Source and photo: Google
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