No Dirty Coal in Sweden for Datacenters - Cleaning up the Cloud

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The recent Greenpeace report on the environmental impact of datacenters ("How Clean Is Your Cloud") points to the importance of location to lower the carbon footprint of the IT industry. "We are proud that Facebook chose Sweden, and extremely pleased that Greenpeace sees this as a step in the right direction", says Tomas Sokolnicki, Invest Sweden and the Swedish Datacenter Initiative.

While the Nordic electricity production mix still includes 20% fossil, Sweden's production is practically fossil-free. Consequently, datacenter owners can focus on other key factors when selecting an appropriate site. It is critical to assure access to renewable sources of electricity, not as an add-on feature but as a fundamental requirement.

Sweden ranks high amongst locations with a stable, predictable and attractive environment for large-scale digital infrastructures. Sweden is in the unique position of combining solid GDP growth with heavy reductions in CO2 emissions. During 2000-2009, GDP increased by 16% while CO2 emissions decreased by 13%.

Sweden's mix of hydro, nuclear and wind-power offers a low cost and reduced risk during dry years. 2011 became a record year for wind production, increasing 74% year-on-year, reaching a total installed effect of 2769 MW. Wind power projects, readily packed as pure financial investments, allow corporations to sharply decrease their cost of electricity compared to regular tariffs.

Already having one of the most robust infrastructures in the world, Sweden continues to invest heavily in the energy sector - 45 billion USD over 10 years are spent on enhancements to the grid, wind generation and district heating and cooling. Current annual investment levels have doubled, while grid investments have more than tripled.

Sweden has additional qualities for larger server farms, such as low electricity prices, attractive locations, skilled workforce and developable land. The climate provides cool air all year round, and fibre is abundant.

"Cleaning up the cloud is a big challenge for IT companies, one we are very eager to support", says Tomas Sokolnicki. "Interested companies can meet us at the Uptime Symposium in Santa Clara, http://symposium.uptimeinstitute.com; and in Nice, France http://www.datacentres2012.com/".

Datacenters in Sweden, click here. Press images, click here.

Media Contacts

Richard Stamm
Invest Sweden North America
[e-mail]
[phone]

Tomas Sokolnicki
[e-mail]
[phone]

The Swedish Datacenter Initiative is a cooperation between 10 Swedish regions, corporate partners and InvestSweden.http://www.investsweden.se/datacenters.

SOURCE Invest Sweden