MerikarviaThe municipality of Vatajankoski and Vatajankoski Oy have agreed to build a 1,5 MW data center MerikarviaThe project will enable the region's district heating to be produced almost entirely without combustion, which will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and at the same time improve energy efficiency.
MerikarviaThe municipality of Saha and Metsä Fibre concluded the sale of the Sawmill area on Monday, March 3, 2025. The municipality's starting point for the sale is to bring business, jobs and activity to the area. In addition, the production of district heat needs to be resolved, because waste heat from Metsä Fibre's sawmill operations has previously been used to produce heat for the district heating network. Since then, district heat in the area has been produced using light fuel oil, which has raised energy costs.
MerikarviaNegotiations have been held with the municipality and Vatajankoski Oy regarding the rental of a data center site on the site in the sawmill area. The data center produces waste heat, which, based on optimization calculations, covers 90-95 percent of the heat requirement. In this way, the waste heat from the data center will produce most of the heat needed for the district heating network. The remainder will initially be produced with oil, but an alternative renewable energy solution such as solar energy is being prepared. In the sawmill area, the flat surfaces of the warehouses can be utilized as a solution for placing solar energy panels. Therefore, a completely non-burning energy solution is being sought for the production of district heat. The goal is that in the future, light fuel oil will only be used as a reserve.
The municipal board will receive a proposed lease agreement for its meeting on April 14, 2025, in which the municipality will rent a space in the corner of the parking area to Vatajankoski Oy. The area has a large electrical connection from previous industry, which will enable the construction of a data center. There is also the possibility of adding another data center in the same location, which will also be able to produce heat for other tenants located in the area. After the municipal board's decision MerikarviaThe board of directors of n Lämpö Oy will sign an agreement with Vatajankoski Oy to utilize waste heat in district heating. The goal is for the data center to be generating heat on the site by early autumn 2025.
Overall, the municipality will receive rental income and savings on energy costs in accordance with the cooperation negotiations. Merikarvian Lämpö Oy buys heat and resells it to its customers, and the project will not result in significant investment costs for the company. The starting point is that everything is in order in terms of decision-making by Easter 2025.
– With the data center Merikarvia"The district heating will be transferred almost entirely to heat production without burning," states MerikarviaThe mayor of the municipality is Juha Vasama.