Elisa to share heat from its data center in Helsinki

According to reports, Finish telco Elisa is the latest company to employ circular economy principles in order to make use of waste heat from its data center in Helsinki. The company recently announced that it has connected to an open district heating system run by energy company Helen, to help heat local homes and businesses in Pasila, Helsinki.

The company has outlined that heat from its data center basement will now be made available outside of its own building via a 1,409 km district heating network in Helsinki. It is not, however, the first data center to be utilized in this way, and according to Elisa, its facilities in Säteri and Tapiola in Espoo, have both already been hooked up to provide heat.

"In Finland, people regard recycling and the use of renewable materials as one of the most important indicators of sustainable business practice. Recycling is also sensible in the use of energy. Investing in both energy self-sufficiency and in technology that promotes energy efficiency is more important than ever. The cooperation with Elisa offers an excellent opportunity to increase the amount of recycled heat for our customers by utilizing our energy platform," says Henrietta Lahti, Business Lead, data center and waste heat solutions at Helen.

Meanwhile, Sami Rajamäki, Elisa's Vice President, Network Services, said: "In cooperation with Helen, energy efficiency in our Pasila data center will improve so that it will become environmentally positive, i.e. the data center actually reduces global emissions. That way we can offer our customers digital services that are produced in an even more sustainable way than before."