Striving for Europe’s Digital Autonomy: AI Infrastructure, Energy, and Regional Choices
As you read this blog, the words on your screen have already travelled thousands of kilometres. They have been processed in a data centre, perhaps in Hamina in Finland, Dublin in Ireland, or Virginia in the USA, before crossing oceans and fibre-optic cables to reach your device in a fraction of a second. Every file we store in the cloud, movie we stream, or AI-generated answer we read depends on these invisible infrastructures.
Data centres have become critical infrastructure for our daily lives. Yet alongside their benefits, they raise growing concerns about environmental impact, energy demand, and the pressures they place on regional planning. For instance, to place them in forest areas also has direct impacts on biodiversity loss. As a regional developer, this raises the question: how can we look beyond the immediate opportunities and carefully weigh the trade-offs?
Data centres have become critical infrastructure for our daily lives.
The Environmental Dilemma Behind AI
In 2022, data centres consumed about 460 TWh of electricity, roughly 2% of global demand. The International Energy Agency expects this figure could more than double by 2030, with AI as a key driver.
Generative AI is especially resource intensive. Training large models consumes enormous amounts of power and specialised hardware, while millions of daily queries continue to draw energy. AI’s footprint includes water use, raw materials for GPUs, and e-waste. Training OpenAI’s GPT-3, for instance, used 1,287 MWh of electricity and emitted more than 550 tons of CO₂. Even inference is costly. In a recent Google study, it estimates that a median Gemini query consumes 0.24 watt-hours of electricity, which is about the same as running a microwave for one second.
The real challenge is not only energy per query but the full lifecycle impact.
The real challenge is not only energy per query but the full lifecycle impact. AI systems reply on water, rare earth raw materials, and complex manufacturing, each carrying ecological and social costs. While Finland is not currently water-stressed, climate change and unexpected crises could disrupt supply in the future. These global infrastructures leave local footprints. How green they are depends largely on the sustainability of the energy system that powers them continuously.
Despite much discussion, measuring AI’s environmental impacts remains difficult. Most companies do not fully disclose energy or material use across the AI lifecycle. Google’s recent report is a step forward, but also a signal: if AI is to be hosted responsibly, we need more transparency, better metrics, and a standard definition of sustainability that developers comply with.
Finland on the Map
Finland has become a hotspot for data centre investment, with global growth of nearly 70% in just two years, fuelled by AI and accelerating digitalisation. For cities and regions, this raises urgent questions: How do we scale digital capacity without jeopardising grid stability or climate goals? Can we keep pace with exponential digital growth and at the same time keep our energy system green and boost the renewable energy production?
Here in Finland, and especially in Helsinki-Uusimaa, the data centers landscape is already diverse:
- Colocation and cloud centres such as Telia’s Pitäjänmäki site, Digita’s Pasila centre, Equinix’s sites in Helsinki and Espoo, and Hetzner’s Tuusula Park.
- Hyperscale campuses are arriving fast. Microsoft’s Espoo and Kirkkonummi sites (developed with Fortum) will support AI applications while recycling waste heat into district heating. Hyperco, backed by international investors, has secured land in Espoo and Lohja, with development expected by 2026. Verne Global’s Mäntsälä facility already runs fully on renewables and feeds waste heat into the local district heating network, with expansion up to 70 MW planned.
- Nationally, Google’s Hamina campus remains one of its largest European sites. TikTok has announced a €1 billion investment for a Finnish centre by 2028. Kajaani and Varkaus are also attracting hyperscale and AI-driven operations.
This variety means our actors in Helsinki-Uusimaa must plan for everything from compact local hubs to vast AI campuses in regional development. It must open opportunities for innovation. For instance, in Helsinki and Espoo, waste heat from servers is already being reused to warm homes, turning a potential burden into a regional asset.
Is the Economic Trade-off Worth It?
The economic contribution of data centres is significant but uneven. Google’s Hamina site alone added around €1.4 billion to Finland’s GDP between 2009–2019, supporting up to 1,700 jobs annually (or 3,600 including indirect effects) – and further growth is projected through 2030.
Here in Helsinki-Uusimaa, similar expectations are tied to new hyperscale campuses in Espoo, Kirkkonummi, and Tuusula. These projects bring investment and visibility, but their long-term value for local cities and municipalities depends on how they integrate into the regional economy. Researchers at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University caution that foreign-owned centres often provide limited local benefits if employment remains modest and profits flow abroad.
This is why, for Finland and particularly Helsinki-Uusimaa, attracting data centre investments cannot be seen as an end in itself. Value creation for society – through jobs, partnerships with local universities and startups, and contributions to climate goals – must be actively cultivated through policy and regional strategies.
For Finland and particularly Helsinki-Uusimaa, attracting data centre investments cannot be seen as an end in itself.
From Resource Hogs to Engines of Green Growth
AI and digital growth are not slowing down, and neither is their energy demand. The real question is not if growth will happen, but how to make it count for our regions.
To justify their environmental and social footprint, it is fair to say that data centres must deliver more than computation. It is in the hands of both public and private actors alike must ensure that data centres here will:
- Generate skilled jobs and stimulate the local tech ecosystem.
- Reinforce supply chains and partner with Finnish universities and startups.
- Reduce emissions through circular solutions, like feeding waste heat into municipal grids.
- Strengthen Finland and Europe’s digital autonomy by supporting European-owned infrastructure.
Strive for win-win development
Next time you type a query into an AI tool, the data may still travel 3,000 kilometres. But the energy driving it could heat homes in Helsinki, run on Nordic renewables, and fuel a digital economy that Europe truly owns.
What would you do? How would you lead regional development so that digital ambition and regional responsibility advance together?
Acknowledge
I would like to thank Professor Jukka Manner at Aalto University for his insights and my colleagues Venla Virkamäki and Ida Honkanen at Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council for their thoughtful comments that helped shape this blog.
IEA (2025), Energy and AI, IEA, Paris, Licence: CC BY 4.0(You are transferring to another service)
Data Center – Finland | Statista Market Forecast(You are transferring to another service)
What Happens When Data Centers Come to Town. Growth of data centers requires new policies to mitigate local community impacts | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy(You are transferring to another service) and stpp data centers 2025(You are transferring to another service)
Beyond Helsinki-Uusimaa
Beyond Helsinki-Uusimaa is a blog series that takes a closer look at the megatrends, initiatives, partnerships, and frameworks shaping the Helsinki-Uusimaa Region beyond its borders. The series explores why and how the region is positioning itself as an influential player within EU networks and global innovation ecosystems, now and in the future.
Christine Chang
The writer works as a Senior Advisor on EU Affairs. With over a decade of experience in Taiwan, the USA, and Finland, she leads EU-funded initiatives, driving sustainable growth and innovation in Helsinki-Uusimaa and across Europe.
Contact information:
+358 44 353 3014, christine.chang@uudenmaanliitto.fi
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