Reuters reported yesterday that Google plans to spend approximately 600 million euros ($672 million) on a second data center in Hamina, Finland. The investment is part of a global expansion effort, including plans to spend $13 billion in the U.S. on various facilities (see “Google to spend $13 billion in 2019 for U.S. data centers, offices”).
“The demand for Google services is growing daily and we are building our data center infrastructure to match this demand,” Google’s Finland country head Antti Jarvinen, told Reuters in a statement.
Google currently operates data centers in Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium. It has broken ground on a data center in Denmark as well, just outside Fredericia in the western part of the country. Google expects to complete construction on this facility in 2021.
The current data center in Hamina, a converted paper mill, came online in 2011 with the completion of Phase 1 of a multi-phase initiative. Phase 2 was announced in 2012, carrying an initial investment of €150 million; Google announced a further €450 million investment in November 2013. The company uses seawater from the Bay of Finland to cool the facility.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.