Google invests $700 million in Danish data center, secures green energy

Google will invest almost $700 million in a Danish data center powered by the abundant green energy that underpins power-intensive companies’ interest in the Nordic region.

Google also said it would sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the new Danish data center to ensure it is powered by renewable energy.

The Nordic countries, which can generate electricity relatively cheaply from renewable sources such as hydropower and wind, have long been a magnet for heavy power-using industries, but are now attracting power-hungry data centers.

Annual investment in Nordic data centers could double to more than 4 billion euros ($4.57 billion) by 2025, a new study published by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the official body for regional cooperation, said on Tuesday.

Big companies have rushed to secure cheap renewable energy to manage costs and reduce their carbon footprint through corporate PPAs which allow firms such as Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, Facebook and Microsoft to buy directly from energy generators.

Nordic countries are competing for the multi-billion-euro investments with the more established FLAP-D markets, an acronym for Frankfurt-London-Amsterdam-Paris-Dublin.

While the Nordics are still perceived as less connected than these markets, the region is likely to gain market share, the Council of Ministers’ study said.