European data center developer Magnora has acquired a 50 percent stake in the Risti Kampus data center project in Estonia through a joint venture with energy company Sunly AS. Located 60km south of Tallinn, the campus could deliver 180MW in its first phase and eventually reach 400MW. It will connect to the grid and Sunly’s nearby energy park, which includes 244MWp of solar, 144MW of battery storage, and 44MW of wind power under development.
"We look forward to develop this powered land and data center project together with local and regional stakeholders and with our local partner Sunly – which has a strong track record and is backed by leading European infrastructure investors. The site has good access to renewable energy, strong connectivity, and scalability. We expect time-efficient project development. This combination matches well the demand from large-scale operators," says Erik Sneve, chairman at Magnora Data Center ASA.
Founded in 2019, Sunly has 1GW of renewable energy capacity operating or under construction, backed by investors including Mirova, EBRD, CIP, KLP, Vardar, EIB, mBank, and Rivage Investments. Sunly’s plans for an Estonian data center campus emerged in March. The Risti Energy Park is located in Lääne-Nigula Parish on Estonia’s northwest coast.
"Risti hybrid park brings Sunly's strategy together in one place. The data center site sits next to what will soon be the largest solar park in the Baltics, where we are also building battery storage capacity and planning a wind park. A large consumer like a data center ties all of this into a single system", explains Priit Lepasepp, CEO of Sunly.