Development of Data Centres in the Nordic Arctic

Abstract

The Arctic areas of Finland, Sweden, and Norway have become more attractive for the establishment of data centres in the last several years. Abundant renewable energy sources like hydro and wind energy, natural cooling, ample space, and a stable political climate all serve as appealing elements for global data centres players to establish their business in the Nordic Arctic. In this chapter, we review the market of data centres in Europe and evaluate Arctic regions value propositions for founding data centres. We use institutionalization theory to evaluate the maturity level of players in the data centre sector. We examine the role of the Arctic states through their Arctic and national strategies, professional organizations, and data centre ecosystems, as well as legal frameworks that establish an operational framework for delivering connectivity. Additionally, we critically analyse institutional conditions, including connectivity via submarine cables and factors that could make the development of data centres favourable in the Nordic Arctic regions. The results demonstrate improving connectivity via submarine cables in the future. National ecosystems supporting data centre actors help professionalise the field. However, there are no cross-border activities between players and data centre ecosystems to establish the united Arctic market, notwithstanding each country’s institutionalization development. All nations studied have Arctic policies, however, issues of connectivity and data center sector development are not well-defined in these documents. We propose an Arctic Regional Hub architecture for future data centre growth in the Nordic Arctic that includes commitments from governments, regional authorities, and data centre ecosystem participants.