"Dozens of Public Hearings... Data Centers Must Be Good Neighbors" Interview with MS Finland Director of Governmental Affairs [AIDC Era Coexistence] ⑤

Ⅱ. Finland's Eco-Friendly Data Centers Become Urban Partners

Forest Conservation Campaign Launched to Address Environmental Concerns

Construction Alone to Generate 2.1 Trillion Won in Economic Activity and Create 12,650 Jobs

Editor's NoteIn the era of artificial intelligence (AI), the government has announced a plan to establish a total of 18.4 GW of data centers by 2035 as part of three major mega-projects to serve as future national growth engines. Data centers, which were once limited to supporting IT services, web applications, and data storage and sharing, are now evolving into industrial platforms that produce and supply AI computing resources. However, despite the widespread recognition of data centers as core infrastructure determining national industrial competitiveness, there remain numerous challenges to be resolved for the expansion of AI Data Centers (AIDC). The Asia Business Daily has directly covered overseas examples from Finland, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, where issues such as power supply, permitting, water resources, and community conflict were skillfully resolved, in order to explore solutions for Korea so that AIDCs can become assets that coexist with local residents.

Heidi Neustadt, MS Finland Director of Governmental Affairs, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily. Photo by Hee-Jong Kang

"The keywords for data centers should be being a good neighbor as a member of the local community. Data centers must also contribute to society."

On July 9 (local time), at Microsoft's office in Espoo, Finland, Heidi Nystedt, Director of Governmental Affairs, answered this way when asked what is emphasized in order for data centers to coexist with the local community.

Currently, Microsoft is constructing data centers in three Finnish locations: Espoo, Kirkkonummi, and Vihti. All three data centers are scheduled for completion by 2027. Once construction is finished, Microsoft will operate the largest data center in Finland. In May, the company also secured 190 hectares of land in Vaasa and Mustasaari for additional data center construction.

Regarding the reasoning behind establishing large-scale data centers in Finland, Nystedt cited strong demand in the Nordic region, the advantage of Finland's cool climate for heat dissipation, and outstanding geographic stability.

Another factor Microsoft highlighted was cooperation with the energy industry. The company was able to easily secure environmentally-friendly energy supplies and actively promote projects to utilize waste heat.

To supply the data centers with green electricity, Microsoft signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 200 MW of wind energy. The company is also collaborating with local energy company Fortum to utilize waste heat from the data centers for district heating projects.

The city of Espoo actively supported Microsoft's data center development. Nystedt explained, "There were no major procedural difficulties, such as with site permitting." However, even in Finland there was some opposition and concern from residents, particularly with regard to environmental impact. Local opposition was especially strong about the potential harm to the natural environment.

Nystedt stated, "We have held dozens of open public hearings to communicate with residents and also provided financial support for addressing environmental damage." For the Kirkkonummi data center construction, Microsoft had to clear approximately 90 hectares of forest. To compensate, Microsoft is running a campaign with the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation to protect 300 hectares of forest.

In addition, local residents have received cybersecurity training, and Microsoft established an educational program called the “Data Center Academia” to foster AI-related talent. Including environmental restoration and forest protection initiatives, Microsoft has invested 1.12 million euros in the local community.

Above all, Microsoft has high expectations for its project to use data center waste heat for district heating. Utilizing the waste heat from Microsoft’s data centers would provide heating for 250,000 people across Espoo and Kirkkonummi. The company expects this will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 400,000 tons per year.

Nystedt said, "The waste heat utilization project at the data center has helped improve perceptions among not only the local community but also politicians. While it is currently used exclusively for district heating, we plan to broaden its use to include greenhouses and other applications in the future."

According to Microsoft's "Economic Impact of Data Centers in Finland" report published in July, the company expects to generate 143 million euros (approximately 233.4 billion won) in economic activity and create 725 direct and indirect jobs from data center operations in 2028 alone. Additionally, data center construction is projected to deliver an economic impact of 1.29 billion euros (about 2.1 trillion won) and create 12,650 construction-related jobs between 2026 and 2028.

Income earned by those involved in data center operations and construction is expected to reach 41 million euros (around 6.7 billion won) and 685 million euros (approximately 1.1179 trillion won), respectively.

The report stated, "For every new operational data center job created, an additional 4.3 jobs will be created locally by 2028 as a ripple effect. Moreover, as data center operations expand, the scale of job creation is expected to grow even further."

This series is supported by the Media Promotion Fund, created through government advertising fees.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.